OK, let’s get this out of the way first. Yes, Keanu Reeves is the bass player in Dogstar. Yes, the famous Hollywood actor from The Matrix, John Wick, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This was also the source of my biggest disappointment of the night. Much of the crowd seemed more interested in filming Reeves than engaging with the performance on stage. It’s the unavoidable downside of having a Hollywood icon in your lineup, I suppose, but it’s worth remembering that this band started in the early ’90s with Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse, and Reeves as lifelong friends not as some vanity project – looking at you, Johnny Depp.
Dogstar took to a hot and sweaty stage at exactly 9 p.m at Hamburg’s famous Grosse Freiheit club, opening with Siren from their new album, All In Now. Vocalist and guitarist Bret Domrose, drummer Robert Mailhouse, and bassist Keanu Reeves have been together since 1991, reuniting during the pandemic after a two-decade hiatus. It’s clear that Dogstaris built on friendship and a genuine love of making music rather than Hollywood status (it doesn’t bloody hurt ticket sales, though, does it?).
Musically, they deliver an energetic blend of alternative rock driven by Domrose’s soaring vocals, jangly guitar work, Mailhouse’s steady drumming, and Reeves’ workmanlike bass lines.
Standout tracks included Joy, This Sphere, Math, and Exalted, while the band powered through much of All In Now, alongside selections from Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees.
Solid stuff. I must admit that seeing three friends simply doing their thing on stage is a joy and something rather enviable at that.
