Soundadvice

Get Out! Jennifer O'Connor | Curtis Symphony Orchestra | Fall of Snow | 27

Sometimes you want to hear something that lets you wallow in misery. Sometimes you need something that makes you feel better. Any decent songwriter is good for one or the other, and the better ones can give you whatever you need at one time or another. Jennifer O'Connor throws it all at you at once.

—M.J. Fine

Fri., Nov. 2, 9 p.m., $11-$13, with Darren Jessee and Clint, Michigan, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

Loyal Curtis alums regularly honor the alma mater by returning for concerts. Both conductor and soloist for this orchestra concert trained there, separated by a generation. The elder statesman is violinist Aaron Rosand, who will play Brahms; the baton twirler is Mark Russell Smith, who will also conduct a high-calorie menu of Wagner, Debussy and Brahms. As a special treat, the orgiastic final trio from Der Rosenkavalier, by Strauss, will wrap things up

—Peter Burwasser

Mon., Nov. 5, 8 p.m., $5-$36, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, www.curtis.edu.

Stephanie Casey left Hollywood to make something real in Portland, Ore. How'd she do? It doesn't get realer than the dark, tidal "Switchback" or the haunting electro-folk of "Fingernails," from Right, her second self-released EP performing as Fall of Snow. She sings softly, so lean in and really listen.

—M.J. Fine

Wed., Nov. 7, 8:30 p.m., $8, with Cloudminder, Ships That Pass in the Night and Scott Rocks, Manhattan Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577, www.myspace.com/themanhattanroom.

Maria Christopher, who leads Boston's 27, is a more subdued presence than Isis fans may be used to, but that's OK. The two groups have had plenty of time to learn to play nicely together, swapping guest spots on one another's albums. But on tracks like the nine-minute "Sorrow's Crown," from Holding on for Brighter Days (Relapse), 27 demonstrates that dense guitars and a pretty voice can be more than enough.

—M.J. Fine

Fri., Nov. 2, 7 p.m., $14-$16, with Isis and Oxbow, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE, www.thetroc.com.