Derrick Carter: The house DJ found fame in the ‘90s by mixing his respect for the club classics with contemporary beats, an approach he revisits on his latest album, “Fabric 56” (Fabric), 10 p.m. Saturday at Smart Bar, 3730 N. Clark St., $10 (before midnight, $15 after); etix.com.

Skysaw: Former Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin resurfaces with a new band named after a Brian Eno song; the songwriting blends melodies with the distinct flair of ‘70s British progressive rock, 9 p.m. Saturday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., $13 and $15; etix.com.

greg@gregkot.com

Clarence Clemons, who died Saturday at age 69, was one of rock’s greatest sidemen. He was a hired gun as part of the E Street Band but he was also Bruce Springsteen’s greatest foil. His imposing physical presence and boisterous saxophone solos were integral to Springsteen’s songs and shows.

Here’s a sampling of musicians who have made vital contributions as sidemen/women in rock history (arranged alphabetically):

Mike Campbell, guitar: Tom Petty’s guitarist, songwriting partner and musical confidante in the Heartbreakers since the ‘70s.

Cliff Gallup, guitar: As the key member of Gene Vincent’s Blue Caps, Gallup revolutionized the art of electric-guitar playing in the ‘50s. Just ask Jeff Beck.

Lisa Germano, violin: In between her own solo albums, Germano has worked with everyone from David Bowie and Iggy Pop to John Mellencamp and Sheryl Crow.

Jerome Green, maracas: Bo Diddley’s percussionist was integral to the famed “Bo Diddley beat.”

Nicky Hopkins, piano: His counterpoint melodies and solos distinguished countless records by The Who, the Jefferson Airplane, the Kinks, and, most notably, the Rolling Stones.

James Jamerson, bass: The dancefloor pulse behind a trove of Motown hits for the Temptations, the Supremes, the Four Tops and more.

Johnnie Johnson, piano: The self-effacing master never got his due as a creative force on many of Chuck Berry’s greatest hits.

Carole Kaye, bass: The foundation of Los Angeles’ famed Wrecking Crew, which played on hundreds of hits and ruled California pop in the ‘60s, from Phil Spector to the Beach Boys.

Al Kooper, organ: His playing defined countless Bob Dylan songs, including “Like a Rolling Stone,” and he served as band leader and arranger on Dylan’s double-album masterpiece, “Blonde on Blonde.”

Mike Mogis, multi-instrumentalist/producer: The key behind-the-scenes player in the burgeoning Nebraska scene that flourished in the last 15 years with Bright Eyes.

Pino Palladino, bass: He’s done stellar work the last two decades with everyone from D’Angelo and John Mayer to The Who.

Billy Preston, keyboards: The rare performer who jammed extensively with both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, as well as countless others.

Mick Ronson, guitar: The secret weapon of England’s glam-rock ‘70s, closely associated with Mott the Hoople, Lou Reed and the "Ziggy Stardust"-era David Bowie.

Jane Scarpantoni, cello: A classically trained musician who has graced albums by R.E.M., Lou Reed, Bob Mould and the Indigo Girls, among many.

Clyde Stubblefield, drums: James Brown’s command to “give the drummer some” ushered in the most famous drum solo in funk history; Stubblefield’s “Funky Drummer” groove has been sampled on countless hip-hop hits.

greg@gregkot.com

    Even if he hadn’t played a note, saxophonist Clarence Clemons would own an exalted place in rock history for the way he was depicted on an iconic album cover.

    Clemons, 69, died Saturday in a Palm Beach, Fla.,  hospital after suffering a stroke several days ago.

    In a stark black-and-white fold-out image on the cover of Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 breakthrough album, “Born to Run,” the imposing saxophonist hunched over his instrument while a bearded, leather-jacketed Springsteen leaned on his shoulder. The image suggested a brotherly bond between the two and in this case it wasn’t just record-industry hokum. Clemons was an integral part of Springsteen’s E Street Band for four decades.

    “Who are these guys? Where did they come from? What is the joke they are sharing?” Springsteen once wrote of the cover photograph’s enduring allure.

    Jim James was in awe of his surroundings Friday. At My Morning Jacket’s sold-out concert at the Auditorium Theatre, the singer gazed at the ceiling and let his imagination take care of the rest.

    “God … built this theater,” he said. “You feel like you could jump through one of those paintings into the alternative universe of your choice.”

    James and My Morning Jacket did a pretty good job of building their own alternative universe, imagining a place where Southern rock and psychedelic surrealism happily co-exist. It added up to a mighty summation of why the Louisville quintet has become one of the most formidable live rock acts of the last decade, gearing up for a headlining appearance in August at Lollapalooza in Grant Park.

    Behind the musicians were what looked like five window frames, like portals of a space ship looking out into a sea of Dali-esque eyeballs and crackling patterns of static. Out front, James was a shaggy, bearded shaman, turning his coat into a dracula cape and stomping around in white, big-foot boots. He slid across the stage on his knees and teetered atop a riser to urge on drummer Patrick Hallahan with pumping fists.

Art Brut: Eddie Argos’ dry humor and his band’s garage-rock enthusiasm make for a winning combination, though Argos tinkers with the formula on the U.K. group’s latest album, “Brilliant! Tragic!,” by trying to actually sing. The album title pretty much sums it up, 9 p.m. Wednesday at Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, $15; ticketfly.com.

greg@gregkot.com

Paul McCartney announced Monday that he will play his first Chicago concert since 2005 when he headlines July 31 at Wrigley Field.
      
Tickets will go on sale June 20 at tickets.com (prices were not yet available) for the rare date at the Cubs ballpark, which has seen only a handful of concerts in past summers by the Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, the Police, Rascal Flatts, and Billy Joel and Elton John.
      
McCartney’s band will remain the same as it has for recent tours: keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens, guitarist Rusty Anderson, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., and guitarist Brian Ray.
      
Also announced were McCartney shows July 24 at Comerica Park in Detroit and Aug. 4 at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

greg@gregkot.com      

 Lollapalooza will announce its schedule Tuesday and here’s how the headliners will shake down: Coldplay and Muse on Aug. 5, Eminem and My Morning Jacket on Aug. 6, and Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 on Aug. 7.

Photos: Lolla lineup

Single-day tickets ($90) also go on sale Tuesday, so concertgoers will now be able to choose which day to attend the three-day 20th anniversary festival in Grant Park. Three-day passes ($215) went on sale a few months ago and the lineup was announced in April.

In an effort to dissipate some of the massive crowds that have congregated near the main stage in recent years, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents will offer fans more options throughout the festival until closing time.

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 4)

F Up (a shorthand version of the band’s explicit name) is almost ridiculously prolific. Since forming a decade ago, the Toronto sextet has released more than 50 singles, EPs and mixtapes, plus three studio albums. The latest, “David Comes to Life” (Matador), provides an epic capper to that era: a four-part, 18-song, 78-minute rock opera.

Once a hardcore punk band with its allegiance to speed, volume and violence, F Up is now a band that embraces grand, anthemic arrangements that at times evoke the drama of the Who, the reverbing guitars of U2, even the Broadway-sized ambitions of the latter-day Green Day. Not that “David Comes to Life” sounds anything like a Broadway hit-to-be.

Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham isn’t a varied or expressive enough singer to carry a five-character narrative about a factory worker who falls in love, loses his partner in a violent death, struggles to unravel why, and ultimately is redeemed. But he gets by on sheer will, barging through these arrangements like a rogue rhino, his gruff bellow balanced by the occasional female backing vocal. The band layers on the instruments and plays with dynamics; for the guitar playing alone --- not the solo virtuosity so much as the intricate interplay, shifting textures and counterpoint melodies – “David Comes to Life” is an achievement. In “Turn the Season,” “Ship of Fools” and “Life in Paper,” the guitars suggest a torrent busting through a dam, sweeping away all in its path. It’s an exhilarating, engulfing sound that might’ve been better served by a more concise album. But then F Up never has been much for holding itself back.

greg@gregkot.com

    For his fans, the most disappointing aspect of Bob Mould’s forthcoming autobiography is likely to be that the revered singer, songwriter and guitarist doesn’t love Husker Du nearly as much as they do.

    Yet in the context of the personal struggle Mould describes in “See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody” (written with Michael Azerrad), it’s understandable why.

    Husker Du were not as successful or well-known as some of the countless bands the trio influenced – from Nirvana to the Foo Fighters – but they bowled over pretty much everyone who ever saw them play. From their beginnings in Minneapolis in the late ‘70s to their bitter demise in 1988, Husker Du played with a ferocity that made almost every band before or since sound tame. (A guide to Bob Mould's best recordings is HERE.)
       
        Mould would balance his 200-pound-plus frame on a forefoot while leaning into the microphone like an angry bear. His sheets-of-sound guitar-playing gave the band an epic impact: orchestral in scope, violent in execution, harrowing to witness. Grant Hart, the long-haired, barefoot drummer, would throw up volleys of rhythm, hammering the crash cymbal to create a thick wash alongside Mould’s guitar. Off to the side, handlebar-mustached Greg Norton would turn the stage into his trampoline while pummeling the bass.

On his forthcoming autobiography, "See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody" (Little Brown), Bob Mould surveys his 30-year musical career. Here are the best of his recordings:   

Husker Du, “Eight Miles High” single (1984): With his over-driven guitar and increasingly unhinged vocals, Mould drops an A-bomb on the Byrds’ psychedelic classic. One of the best rock-era covers ever.       

Husker Du, “Zen Arcade” (1984): The double-album blows open the doors of hardcore punk by blending songcraft, psychedelia and experimental ambition. Even the fuzzy production can’t dim the power of the songs.

Husker Du, “New Day Rising” (1985): Even better than its celebrated predecessor, this aptly named follow-up funnels the noise into ringing pop songs.

Husker Du, “Flip Your Wig” (1985): The final piece of Husker Du’s game-changing trilogy shows the band at its most intensely melodic without softening the attack, anchored by Mould’s “Makes No Sense At All.”

Bob Mould, “Workbook” (1989): The singer’s solo debut introduces a more textured approach and a deeper sense of introspection.

Sugar, “Copper Blue” (1992): Capitalizing with his new power trio on the alternative-rock gold rush he presaged in Husker Du, Mould brings concise tunes, robust choruses and driving tempos to his most commercially successful album.

Sugar, “Beaster” (1993): The nastier cousin to the Sugar debut, with some of Mould’s most harrowing music in “JC Auto.”

Bob Mould, “Life and Times” (2009): The hooks arrive in bunches as Mould artfully balances reflection, anxiety and a hint of hopefulness.

greg@gregkot.com