After kicking off with the great guitar maestro Rhys Chatham at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday, the “Adventures in Modern Music” series sponsored by the Empty Bottle and the Wire magazine — and taking place this year in collaboration with Sƒ³nar as its first U.S. festival — continues starting at 9 tonight with cutting-edge sounds from Rangda, the magnificent Efterklang, Michael Zerang/the Jim Baker Duo, and Buke & Gass at the club at 1035 N. Western. (The cover is $15.)

On Saturday, the lineup is High Places, Wooden Shjips, Julian Lynch, and Ahleuchatistas, and on Sunday, it’s the bone-rattling CAVE, Cloudland Canyon, and‚ Helen Money. More information can be found on the Empty Bottle’s site, or at the Sƒ³nar Web site here.

Acoustic Strawbs

Progressive music from an earlier generation can be heard tonight at the Abbey Pub, which is hosting the Acoustic Strawbs, contemporaries of Yes, Genesis, Renaissance, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer when those bands all were pretty exciting (and yes, kids, there was a time, way back in the early ’70s). Opening at 7:30 is Chicago’s own Ken Kesey/Merry Prankster, psychedelic-rock maven Sir Plastic Crimewave.‚  Tickets are $20 via Ticketfly.com

Staying on the psychedelic tip, Subterranean is hosting a strong bill of modern shoegazer bands starting at 9 tomorrow night and featuring Apteka, Sissy Mena, Secret Colours, and Kam. The cover is $8, and the gig is open to those 17 and over.

Alice Peacock

Also on Saturday, Lincoln Hall is celebrating the opening of a show by ace Chicago rock photog Paul Natkin with a gig by singer and songwriter Alice Peacock to benefit Rock for Reading. The festivities start at 7 p.m., and tickets are available in advance for $20 through the club’s Web site.

Finally, if you didn’t have a chance to witness alternative-rock heroes Pavement at the Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this summer — or if you’d like to see the postmodern pop stars strut their stuff one more time before their reunion jaunt plays out — the group returns to the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on Monday. No Age opens at 7 p.m., and tickets are $15 to $40 plus egregious service fees through the dreaded Ticketmaster.