Bryan Ferry performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on Aug. 31, 2019. Roman Gokhman/Staff. OAKLAND — It was somewhere just before the heartbeat-skipping drop in “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” an ominous slithering snake of a song two-thirds of the way through Bryan Ferry‘s concert at the…

Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at the Concord Pavilion on Aug. 24, 2019. Photos: Holly Horn. CONCORD — It didn’t matter to the large crowd that packed the Concord Pavilion that Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd have just one original band member remaining. Bay Area fans came out to say goodbye to…

Young the Giant perform at the Hearst Greek Theatre in Berkeley on Aug. 15, 2019. Photos: Martin Lacey. BERKELEY — Young the Giant and Fitz and the Tantrums brought their co-headlining tour to the Hearst Greek Theatre Thursday evening; the penultimate performance of a tour that has crisscrossed the…

Paul Simon performs at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco during the Outside Lands Music Festival on Aug. 11, 2019. Photos: Martin Lacey and Joaquin Cabello. SAN FRANCISCO — The third and final day of Outside Lands 2019 featured music legends Paul Simon and Mavis Staples in addition to…

Childish Gambino, Courtesy: Jerm Cohen/Outside Lands. Other photos by Joaquin Cabello and Martin Lacey. Staff. SAN FRANCISCO — Childish Gambino made the announcement shortly after taking the stage: He had just been told that his performance at Outside Lands had drawn the largest single crowd in the festival’s decade-plus history.…

James’ vocalist Tim Booth dances with a fan at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco on Aug. 4, 2019. Photos: Martin Lacey. SAN FRANCISCO — Pop and rock stalwarts The Psychedelic Furs and James brought their co-headlining tour to the Stern Grove Festival Sunday, playing to a standing-room-only crowd…

Mitski performs at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco on July 14, 2019. Photos: Roman Gokhman. SAN FRANCISCO — On a Sunday afternoon when the sun refused to peek out from above the fog, Mitski brought a dramatic performance to the Stern Grove Festival that at times fit…

OAKLAND — Since the beginning of boy bands, fans have demanded more than just music from their heroes. Details like the impression of a relationship and what each member likes to do or even eat have been just as important. That’s never changed from New Kids on the Block…

Hootie & The Blowfish perform on the Group Therapy Tour at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on June 29, 2019. Photos: Steve Carlson.  MOUNTAIN VIEW — When Hootie and the Blowfish were riding high off mega-hit album Cracked Rear View in 1995, they probably didn’t have as much…

Florence and The Machine performs at Concord Pavilion in Concord on May 15, 2019. Photos: Sean Liming. CONCORD — The penultimate episode of “Game of Thrones” knocked out the (spoiler alert) sitting Iron Throne ruler while destroying the reputation of another. At her tour stop at the Concord Pavilion…