Simple Minds (Jim Kerr third from left). Courtesy Dean Chalkley. To introduce Simple Minds fans to the next chapter of their band, vocalist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill wrote a song that looks backward. “Vision Thing”—the first single from new album Direction Of The Heart, as well as…

Ken Yates, courtesy. The funky jazz of Greyboy Allstars, Miynt’s cool-as-ice vocals, post-punk beats of Oliver Marson and beautiful storytelling of Burt Bacharach and Daniel Tashian make the cut for this week’s Tuesday Tracks. We round out this list with new releases from Sparks, Tempers and Ken Yates. Sparks, “It’s…

Clockwise from top left: The Dears, The Jacks, GUM (Tame Impala’s Jay Watson), Sparks, Gleemer, Sasami. Every week, there’s more new music waiting to be discovered. You’re no doubt stuck at home for the Nth day. Maybe you’ve even dried Netflix’s well of passive entertainment (it’s impossible). By now,…

Roman Gokhman’s Favorite Concerts of 2015 This is the second in a three-part series. Read the introduction to learn how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” in PART 1. 10 – TAYLOR SWIFT at Levi’s Stadium – Aug. 14. At this point in her career,…

FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks). I really like Franz Ferdinand. I’ve caught pretty much all of their shows in the Bay Area since 2003, and have caught a couple of shows in Oregon before, as well. But this isn’t about Franz Ferdinand; this is about FFS. Over the past couple of weeks,…