Simple Minds is most often categorized and marketed as an ’80s new wave group.
Yet, that’s very misleading, since this multiplatinum-selling band is about as straightforward rock ‘n’ roll as it gets, sharing more in common with Foghat than Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Think U2, only led by with a Scottish Jon Bon Jovi at the microphone.
And while the Simple Minds’ biggest song — “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” — certainly helps define the ’80s through its poignant inclusion in John Hughes “The Breakfast Club,” that decade definitely doesn’t define the group, which was making music back in the ’70s and has continued to deliver quality tunes into recent years.
Simple Minds had the chance to flex its rock ‘n’ roll muscles, with very impressive results, at the Toyota Pavilion at Concord on Tuesday (May 20) with a roughly 100-minute set that included 18 numbers.
Oh, there was also a big drum solo — which is definitely something you’re not going to get with The Human League.
Or Soft Cell, for that matter, the English synth-pop drummer-less duo who is sharing opening act duties with Modern English on this tour. Both outfits did a fine job in that role, with Modern English taking the stage right around around 7 p.m. — in front of a very sparse crowd, partly due to an accident on Kirker Pass Road that made getting to the venue on time very challenging — then Soft Cell following.
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It was a really strong bill overall — and the fact that it didn’t draw very well, with the Pavilion at less than half capacity for the night, further underscores that the ’80s revival gravy train might finally be loosing steam.
Modern English performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Despite vocalist Robbie Grey being annoyed by the lack of enthusiasm and attention from crowd — which appeared to number in the hundreds, rather than the thousands as his band took the stage — Modern English still sounded pretty great as it ran through a half-dozen tunes. Of course, the highlight was the set-ending “I Melt With You,” the prom anthem that deserves as spot on the short list for the finest romantic songs of the ’80s.
Soft Cell followed with its own short set, beep-booping its way through nine synth-pop numbers in a little over a half an hour. The U.K. duo — consisting of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball — delivered a few nice moments, with the crowd reacting most strongly to the famed mashup “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go.”
Soft Cell’s Marc Almond performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Then it was time for the main attraction, as Simple Minds entered the fray at around 9:15 p.m. and proceeded to rock the crowd with everything they had.
The band — which still features founding members Kerr on vocals and Charlie Burchill on guitar — got off to a really strong start with “Waterfront” and “Speed Your Love to Me,” a double-shot from 1984’s seriously good “Sparkle in the Rain.”
The group then ventured back to 1982 for the title track from “New Gold Dream (81/82/83/84)” then dove right into the heart of its glory days to deliver the namesake from 1985’s “Once Upon a Time.”
The group is celebrating the 40th anniversary of “Once Upon a Time” — the album that, with massive help from “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from “The Breakfast Club” soundtrack, resulted in Simple Minds’ big breakthrough in the U.S.
And it’s really important to note that the breakthrough came with the seventh Simple Minds album, when the group was good and ready to handle such success. They weren’t some overnight MTV sensation, thrust into the spotlight with one catchy single and some (once) cool haircuts, but rather a battletested unit with already a substantial fanbase in its native U.K. and Europe.
By that time, they had also managed to earn a reputation as a great live band, a calling card that they maintain to this day. They are in that elite “you really need to save them live” buzz category, which is usually saved for the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Phish — and almost never bestowed on any new wave act.
Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
But, going back to the original point, Simple Minds isn’t really new wave, but rather an arena-ready anthem-rock act. And that’s exactly how the seven-piece outfit came across as it continued through such heavy hitters as “Someone Somewhere in Summertime” and “Let There Be Love.”
Following a muscular drum solo by Cherisse Osei (who has been with the band since 2017), Simple Minds raced through “See the Lights” and “All the Things She Said” on its way to getting to the number that was probably responsible for selling 50 percent of the evening’s tickets — “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
As expected, the audience members erupted in sheer joy to this main-set closer, perhaps remembering back to the roles they played in high school — “a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse,” as Anthony Michael Hall’s character so memorably put it “The Breakfast Club.”
Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr, and guitarist Charlie Burchill, left, perform in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
The group then returned for a three-song encore, kicking off with a wonderful take on “Dolphins” (from 2005’s “Black & White 050505”) before closing up shop with two of the finest rock anthems of the ’80s — “Alive and Kicking” and “Sanctify Yourself.”
If you missed the gig, or simply want some more Simple Minds, I recommend listening to the band’s new two-disc concert album — “Live in the City of Diamonds.” Also, the documentary on the band — 2023’s “Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible” — will hopefully be available to stream in the U.S. soon. Keep checking more simpleminds.com for possible details.
Simple Minds setlist:
1) “Waterfront”
2) “Speed Your Love to Me”
3) “New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)”
4) “Once Upon a Time”
5) “Someone Somewhere in Summertime”
6) “Let There Be Love”
7) “This Fear of Gods”
8) “Oh Jungleland”
9) “Promised You a Miracle”
10) “Theme for Great Cities”
11) “She’s a River”
12) “See the Lights”
13) “All the Things She Said”
14) “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”
Encore:
15) “Banging on the Door”
16) “Dolphins”
17) “Alive and Kicking”
18) “Sanctify Yourself”
Simple Minds vocalist Jim Kerr performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Soft Cell setlist
1) “Memorabilia”
2) “Torch”
3) “Monoculture”
4) “Nostalgia Machine”
5) “Purple Zone”
6) “First Hand Experience in Second Hand Love”
7) “The Night”
8) “Bedsitter”
9) “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go”
Soft Cell instrumentalist David Ball performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Modern English setlist
1) “Gathering Dust”
2) “Long in the Tooth”
3) “Someone’s Calling”
4) “Hands Across the Sea”
5) “Swans on Glass”
6) “I Melt With You”
Modern English performs in concert at the Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
