The Guide offers a critical view of what's hot for the coming week.

Jamie Lidell, Concorde 2, Brighton, Friday, December 9
"A dazzling one-man funk barrage," is how Jamie Lidell likes to describe himself and anyone who's seen his live show can't really argue. From frantic jazz to deep funk and freaked-out electronica, Jamie embraces soul music in its rawest form and mixes it with samples, loops and mind-boggling visuals. Singer, beatboxer and crazy showman, this is the man who, when he became bored with a studio's in-house percussion, filled a shopping trolley with rubbish and used it as a drum kit. Originally from Brighton but now living in Berlin, Jamie's aim is to shake up the electronic music scene by generously plying it with big slices of soul pie. Starts 10pm, tickets cost £10. Call 01273 673311.

Status Quo, Brighton Centre, Friday, December 9
The kings of the three-chord trick return as stars of soap as well as rock. How or why Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt appeared in Coronation Street we're not sure, but they proved themselves to be jolly good sports. You've got to hand it to the Quo. They've been going 40 years and have had more hit singles than any other band in UK chart history - two of those hits were actually this year. The concert should be more rockin' than ever - the band will be celebrating because tomorrow they pick up the Festival Feel Good Act medal at the UK Festival Awards 2005. You know you want to get down, down, deeper and down. Starts 7.30pm, tickets cost £28.50. Call 0870 900 9100.

The Human League, Brighton Dome, Brighton, Thursday, December 15
The Human League have become an unlikely festival favourite and appearances at Homelands, Dublin's Electric Picnic Festival and London's Mardi Gras prove they are still a force to be reckoned with on the live circuit. Twenty years ago, The Human League were briefly the most successful band on the planet. Don't You Want Me? was the biggest-selling single of 1981 and their first two albums, Dare and Love And Dancing redefined modern synthetic pop. Their Nineties comeback was a successful one and they've been touring ever since, while inspiring a new generation of electro-heads. Starts 8pm, tickets cost £17-£19.50. Call 01273 709709.