Dogstar made their way to Mr. Smalls Theater for a stop on their North American Tour. Their tour celebrates their newest album in 23 years, “Somewhere Between Power Lines and Palm Trees.” This grungy, alt-rock band sounds like a cross between Queens of the Stone Age, Toad and the Wet Sprocket, and Local H.The band consists of singer-guitarist Brett Domrose, Keanu Reeves and Robert Millhouse, all of whom are in the film industry. The band officially disbanded in 2003; however, they were able to open up for Bon Jovi and David Bowie before calling it quits due to Reeves’s fame taking over the spotlight.
Some of the audience were lifelong fans of Dogstar who never thought that they would see the band again. There were also some people there just to see Keanu Reeves in person. A lot of people adorned their Dracula, Matrix and Bill and Ted Shirts to the show to display their admiration for the actor.
The setlist for the show was subpar. Only two songs, “Halo” and “Flowers,” were older Dogstar songs. The rest of the songs from the set were from their newest album. There is enough variation between the songs on the album, so it did not affect the audience that much. Still, attendees waiting to hear old Dogstar material will have to wait until the next show.
Unfortunately, there was not a lot of participation from the audience other than the usual shouting and clapping. The album had just come out that day, and it was not enough time to learn the lyrics. Dogstar’s discography before the new album is not on Spotify, so their songs are hard to find unless one comes across a CD. Some people were singing the newly released singles, but the show did feel one-sided at times whenever those songs were not playing.
Keanu Reeves’s bass riffs added extra melody and movement to the backbone of each song, specifically “How The Story Ends,” “Overhang,” and “Lily.” The prominent bass was needed because the other electric guitar plays chord progressions most of the set and not a lot of intricate melodies. The bass guitar was easily heard and, as a bass player myself, I was glad I could easily hear it. In a lot of the shows I have attended, the bass usually gets overshadowed on the mixing board.
Reeves is usually a man of few words outside of his acting career. Even though he only said a few sentences throughout the night, he was all smiles and energy during the show. He would wave and bow to the crowd in intermission, and watch his bandmates intently for the cue to move on to the next song.
Before the three band members concluded the show with a few more songs, they came out holding beers and celebrated the official release of the album on stage. They also expressed great love for Pittsburgh throughout the show and promised to visit again on the next tour.
