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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

Lollapalooza weekend will once again be bustling with club activity before and after the big outdoor shows Aug. 5-7 in Grant Park, this year with four nights of bonus concerts beginning Aug. 3.

Though there are no arena-sized headliners playing small clubs as in past years with Them Crooked Vultures and Phoenix, the after-parties announced Tuesday include some great options for those who can’t get enough music on Lollapalooza weekend or want to avoid the festival entirely.

Among the highlights: Titus Andronicus will bring its guitar-army roar to Reggies on Aug. 6, Death from Above 1979 will strafe Metro on Aug. 4, Swedish singer Lykke Li will headline House of Blues on Aug. 5, and British heavies the Arctic Monkeys will be joined by Chicago’s excellent Disappears at House of Blues on Aug. 6. Also highly recommended are Local Natives, who top the bill at Lincoln Hall on Aug. 5, rising British stars the Vaccines at Schubas on Aug. 5, and pop-rock trio Dom at Subterranean on Aug. 6.

Conspicuous by its absence is a Metro show on Aug. 6 -- let the rumors begin about what band may yet be booked in that prime slot during the busiest music weekend of the summer. Given Dave Grohl's history with Metro as a member of Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age and now the Foo Fighters, who headline Lollapalooza Aug. 7, he is certain to be at the center of the after-show gossip in coming weeks.

Here’s a complete list of Lolla-sponsored shows (tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday HERE):

Tickets for Paul McCartney’s July 31 show at Wrigley Field went on sale Monday morning and sold out within minutes, so a second show was immediately added Aug. 1.

Tickets ($29.50, $49.50, $69.50, $99.50, $165, $250) are on sale at tickets.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.

2.5 stars (out of 4)

Bon Iver’s 2008 debut, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” punctuated a new era of male sensitivity, indie-rock division. Like Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon connected with the type of earnest, low-key songs that James Taylor once would’ve strummed around the campfire to a gaggle of adoring hippies. Since then Vernon has become something of a mystique-laden cult star – the guy who retreated into the wilderness after breaking up with his band and his girlfriend, made an album full of ghosts and heavenly, broken harmonies that sold more than 300,000 copies, and then got a call to jam with Kanye West in Hawaii.

On the follow-up, “Bon Iver, Bon Iver” (Jagjaguwar), Vernon opens up a bit; instead of holing up by himself with a guitar and laptop, he surrounds himself with musicians. The sound is a good deal plusher, the arrangements thickened with pedal steel, saxophone, horns, percussion. But Vernon still sounds like he’s back in that Wisconsin cabin that birthed “Emma.” His falsetto is the album’s central instrument – sometimes starkly alone, sometimes layered into a cosmic choir, occasionally twisted into an otherworldly, Auto-Tuned wobble.

Horns spiral and thundering drums split open the eulogy “Perth.” “Minnesota, WI” flirts with a reggae rhythm, then pits flutes against banjo. These orchestrations give the songs the feel of movies, evoking the locales suggested in the titles and the memories that come with them. But the album’s middle sags with drifting arrangements and it concludes with a dud: the cheesy, reverb-laden ‘80s pop of “Beth/Rest.”

Vernon gets it right on “Calgary,” though: A song that takes the hushed, hymn-like tone of “For Emma, Forever Ago” and builds it into a tower of yearning. Call it soul music for shut-ins.

greg@gregkot.com

United Sounds of America: The six-part series inspired by six American cities and regions concludes with concerts devoted to Detroit (Friday with Marshall Crenshaw) and Austin (Saturday with Alejandro Escovedo), 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Av., $25 to $70; cso.org or 312-294-3000.

My Morning Jacket: The Louisville band’s latest album, “Circuital,” is inconsistent, but its reputation for strong live performances remains intact. This show will be a relatively intimate affair compared to MMJ’s headlining slot at Lollapalooza in August, 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy., $37.50 and $47.50; ticketmaster.com.

Screaming Females: You’ll see no better guitarist this month than Marissa Paternoster, who shreds something fierce while leading this aggressively melodic New Jersey trio, 6:30 p.m. Friday with Against Me! at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., $18; etix.com.

greg@gregkot.com

Bob Mould: In what is billed as “an evening of reading and music,” the indie-rock pioneer will be referencing his new autobiography and digging into the genesis of some of his best songs, 8 p.m. Thursday at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport, $25; mercurytheaterchicago.com.

greg@gregkot.com