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MAHJONGG For a while there it looked like we might never see a second album of Mahjongg’s neon–brilliant world-beat junkyard dance funk. They became orphans when Cold Crush, which released their 2005 debut LP, Raydoncong, called it quits, and they’ve been at loose ends in other ways too, losing a couple members and nearly breaking up. But then Calvin Johnson of K Records came calling–he’s been a fan since Dub Narcotic Sound System played with Mahjongg back in Missouri–and now the band has somewhere to put the recordings it’s been piecing together over the past couple years. Their next album, tracked mostly at their Humboldt Park space, Elephant, is due on K in January. I’ve heard an early version of “Problems,” which Johnson is releasing as a single this fall, and it bodes well, deriving an unlikely groove from lurching, lo-fi beatbox rhythms and demented keyboard ooze. Golden Birthday and Chew on This open. a 7:30 PM, Subterranean, 2011 W. North, 773-278-6600 or 866-468-3401, $8. A –J. Niimi
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c fountains of wayne Fountains of Wayne front man Adam Schlesinger is as skilled a pop formalist as they come, as evidenced by his Oscar-nominated title track for That Thing You Do! and more recently the spot-on faux-80s new-wave material he wrote for Music and Lyrics. But his facility with genre can also be a liability in his own band’s music, at times crossing the line between formalistic and formulaic. The band clearly hit it out of the park with “Stacy’s Mom,” from 2003’s Welcome Interstate Managers, showing that the Fountains can indeed transcend their sometimes too-evenhanded songwriting to deliver a bluntly enjoyable radio confection. The new Traffic and Weather (Virgin) is just as solid as its predecessor and gets more likable with each listen. “Strapped for Cash,” with its whooshing chorus and soaring horns, is the album’s best shot at the singles charts, but there’s plenty else to like, including the sweet country rock of “Fire in the Canyon,” the updated car-love ode “’92 Subaru,” and the clever wordplay and vivid characters in “Someone to Love.” Office opens. a 10 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-3160 or 312-559-1212, $25. –J. Niimi
BRAD PAISLEY Since the bar’s set so low in contemporary country, Brad Paisley comes off like a genuine Renaissance man just because he can sing, write his own songs, and play a mean guitar. And unlike Toby Keith, who’s made a fortune pandering to rednecks, he’s likable, with a risque sense of humor that draws on the puns and wordplay of classic country. That said, Paisley pushes the jokes a bit too far on his latest, 5th Gear (Arista). “Online” is a sophomoric parody about a loser who lives with his parents and indulges his fantasies on MySpace, and the surprise hit “Ticks” is full of double entendres about getting in a girl’s pants. Good thing he’s a more consistent musician than he is a comedian. Taylor Swift, Jack Ingram, and Kellie Pickler open. a 7 PM, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, I-80 & Harlem, Tinley Park, 708-614-1616 or 312-559-1212, $25.25-$40.75. A –Peter Margasak
cPAPERCUTS Papercuts’ gentle tide of indie bedroom strumming is largely the work of the Bay Area’s Jason Quever. A sometime collaborator of Cass McCombs, Quever mines roughly the same ground–delicate almost-psych pop, sung in a pleasantly plain howl and left to wander in a mist of reverb. Papercuts’ second album, Can’t Go Back, came out earlier this year on Devendra Banhart’s Gnomonsong label: overripe with easy melodies, it’s almost disconcerting in its wispy flawlessness. “Summer Long” and “Unavailable” are possibly the best lovelorn fey-boy pop dramas to come down the pike since Belle & Sebastian turned into a 10cc cover band. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and Bowerbirds open. a 9 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $10, $8 in advance, 18+. –Jessica Hopper
