Weekend Music Ideas: October 27, 2017

Julien Baker, Club d'elf, Jake Shimabukuro and the Sam Adams Octoberfest

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This weekend’s a bit thinner on the concert front with the cancellations of shows by Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly (due to continued delays with the opening of City Winery in the West End) and ZZ Top at the Orpheum while bassist Dusty Hill attends to a “tummy ailment.” But here are four killer options to consider.

The Seaport rocks on Friday evening with the Sam Adams Octoberfest, which should get more than hoppy with local ska-punk pioneers the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (an outdoor appetizer for their Hometown Throwdown at House of Blues in December), the South African hit-makers Kongos and eclectic acoustic rockers City of the Sun at the World Trade Center.

Any Friday that Club d’elf takes over the Lizard Lounge offers a wonderful escape into the shifting Boston collective’s dark, improvisational world of avant-jazz/dub groove. But this Friday should be extra-special as a Halloween summit with guest Jeff Lockhart adding his soulful, shimming guitar notes and costumes encouraged. Band leader Microvard (aka Mike Rivard) may summon an alternate guise to his Skeleton Sintir Man, but he’s sure to inject that Moroccan-rooted instrument.

Julien Baker (pictured) packs plenty of pain and perspective within her tiny frame, but when she lets it out onstage, the 22-year-old singer/songwriter looms large, turning the intimate into communal catharsis. The Memphis native burrows deep on her mesmerizing new album Turn Out the Lights (a shade broader than her 2015 debut Sprained Ankle with piano and strings as well as layered guitar) and Baker’s sure to let her voice — and spirits — soar at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday.

Jake Shimabukuro holds the title of “Jimi Hendrix of the Ukelele,” though that diminishes the breadth of his virtuosity. The Hawaiian musician tackles most any genre with stunning technique and sensitivity on that little four-string acoustic axe. While his repertoire includes traditional and original songs, Shimabukuro’s unique interpretation of pop/rock classics — from the Beatles to Nirvana to Adele — have become a signature. It’s hard to top his near-classical ukulele rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but he’ll give it a shot at the Cabot in Beverly on Saturday.


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