Dogstar Raw and Uncut in Madison
Dogstar made their Madison debut at The Sylvee with a simple approach. Three musicians, three instruments, and no shortcuts.
Originally formed in Los Angeles in 1991, the band brought its All In Now Tour to Madison with London’s The Backfires opening the night. The crowd was a mix of longtime Dogstar fans, people discovering the band for the first time, and Keanu Reeves fans sporting Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Wyld Stallyns t-shirts.
Once the band took the stage the celebrity factor was obviously secondary to the music.
Dogstar plays exactly what you hear. There are no backing tracks filling out the arrangements or anything hiding behind the three piece setup. Bret Domrose handles guitar and vocals, Robert Mailhouse keeps the beat on drums, and Reeves anchors the band on bass.
That stripped down approach gives Dogstar a raw, uncut quality that works especially well in a live setting. The guitars came through thick and gritty. Mailhouse maintained a steady pulse. While Reeves’ bass added a rough edge that helped bring everything together.
Reeves doesn’t try to dominate the stage. His presence is understated and relaxed, staying focused on the bass. Watching him play, the priority was clear. Dogstar is about making music, and not about the accomplishments they each have outside of the band.
Fans pressed against the barricade singing along while others stood back and took the performance in. The room stayed loose throughout the set but the energy picked up whenever the songs demanded it.
Dogstar’s latest album, All In Now, fits their natural approach. Produced by Nick Launay whose credits include Idles, Amyl and the Sniffers, and The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. The record carries the same rough around the edges character that comes through onstage. When the band launched into the title track, now their most-streamed song on Spotify, the room came alive.
Then came a surprise with a cover of The Replacements classic “Can’t Hardly Wait.” The song immediately changed the atmosphere with much of the crowd joining in and turning it into one of the night’s biggest singalongs.
I first saw Dogstar in 1999 in Kansas City when they opened for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The Living End. Seeing the band again nearly three decades later shared some of that young energy. The difference was a band that came out more fine-tuned, focused, and comfortable in their own skin.
After “Breach,” the final song of the encore, Reeves and Mailhouse stepped away from their instruments and joined Domrose at the microphone.
Reeves smiled and thanked everyone for coming. Mailhouse called Madison a beautiful city and thanked the crowd for having them.
Domrose then reflected on his years as a musician.
“I’ve been playing guitar since I was 11 years old,” he told the crowd. Going on to share, “All of my hard work and dedication ultimately led to moments like this, standing onstage and sharing these moments with you people. So thank you.”
On tour now so go to http://www.dogstarofficial.com for more information
Words & Photography by Robert Freeman @robbie_freeman robertfreemanphotos.com