Courtesy: Tessa Angus As Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was recording 2013 album Specter at the Feast, the trio was still reeling from the 2010 death of one of their own. Michael Been, the father of frontman Robert Levon Been, had died suddenly at one of their shows. The elder Been,…

Photos: Diana Cordero SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club headlined a strong, gritty show Saturday at The Masonic. In their usual somber style, the band did a rundown of their most influential songs, from their eponymous debut B.R.M.C all the way to Beat the Devil’s Tattoo and 2013’s Specter…

Courtesy: James Minchin Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Leah Shapiro says new material is “in the works” for an eighth studio LP from the Lafayette, California-founded group, but the band has been on a complicated road to get there. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death From Above 1979, Deap Vally 8…

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…

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, courtesy: James Minchin. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has a sold-out show coming up at the Fillmore on April 22, but it was a different performance I was more interested in. Robert Levon Been is stepping in his late-father Michael Been’s shoes and joining his father’s bandmates…

The Call with Robert Levon Been, courtesy. Seminal ‘80s Santa Cruz rockers The Call disbanded in 2000 when frontman-bassist Michael Been decided to focus his energy on his son’s fledgling career. So in a roundabout way, Robert Levon Been is returning the gesture, when he briefly steps away from…