Marina and the Diamonds perform on April 17, 2015 at the Warfield in San Francisco. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This is the final part in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1, the runners-up in PART 2, 15 through 11…

Franz Ferdinand performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on April 28, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This is the fourth in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1, the runners-up in PART 2, and 15 through 11 in PART…

Bastille performs at then Warfield in San Francisco on April 10, 2014. Photos courtesy: Jon Ching. This is the third in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in Part 1, HERE, and the runners-up in Part 2, HERE. 15. Bastille at…

Jessie Ware performs at The Chapel in San Francisco on Oct. 21, 2014. This is the second in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts HERE. I call these next three shows the runners-up because I didn’t want to have…

Muse performs at Oracle Arena in Oakland on Dec. 15, 2015. I doubt I’ll ever get to go to as many concerts as I did in 2013. My goal was see 50, and I saw 64. In judging what I enjoyed most, I decided to grade based on my…

U2 performs during a “Good Morning America” concert at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York on March 6, 2009. This story originally appeared in the Oakland Tribune. NEW YORK — I’ve been excited about the March 3 release of U2’s No Line on the Horizon since last spring,…

“The Heart” stage on U2’s Elevation Tour. This story first ran in The Union. A dream vacation is different for many people. I would never tell you that a trip to the Swiss Alps is a waste of time and money. Yet I have turned many heads when I…