It had been a few weeks since I’ve covered a show and I was itching to hit any event as I finally had some free time on a Friday night. I checked down my list of usual stops… Saint Andrews Hall, The Fillmore, LCA, Royal Oak Music Theatre…. I wasn’t finding anything in our spectrum of coverage. As I clicked on the Majestic Theatre calendar, I was prepared to call it quits till next time. Then, I stumbled across Dogstar. While the name was ringing a bell, I couldn’t place the sound. I opened up YouTube and it all came back to me.
Dogstar was formed in the early 1990s by Actors Robert Millhouse, Keanu Reeves and joined by Brett Domrose in 1995. The band went separate ways in 2002 and snuck back into production recently with a killer album “Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees”.
The night started off with opening act, Archer Oh who is promoting their new album: Gradients and new single The Loneliest Surface. These guys list as an Indie Rock band with a distinctive retro surfer sound. Glad these guys made the trip from Cali as I really enjoyed their set, particularly their song Sophmore City, I found really catchy. People of Detroit made it out early to the show and the guys were able to perform for a packed sold out venue.
I’ll take a step backwards for a moment to give the venue, Majestic Theatre Detroit, some huge props. Their staff is incredible. They actually patrol their parking lots even though the neighborhood is quite pleasant. Every Majestic employee I passed was friendly and offered a friendly greeting. They really make the guests feel at home. One of my favorite Detroit venues.
So on to the main course, Dogstar. I was really impressed with their set. I had never seen them perform live so this was quite the treat. Admittedly, I’m a big fan of Keanu’s acting career so that dynamic added an extra factor to enjoying the evening. While I’m sure their acting careers helped to propel popularity, these guys are well practiced, pure musicians on stage. A band wouldn’t last 30+ years if they rested solely on the value of their popular acting careers. Dogstar brings solid rock and roll. With all the variations of rock these days, it’s refreshing to hear a rock band that needs no prefix to describe the type of rock. Where the guitars actually sound like guitars… it’s a novel idea- basic principles of rock and roll with no frills. While I won’t directly compare them to other artists, I can say if you enjoy bands like Collective Soul, Foo Fighters, and Bush… then you will dig Dogstar.
With only 2 bands playing that evening, Dogstar took the stage early at 9pm and played a lengthy 20 song set for the packed venue. My new home is about an hour and a half from the Majestic Theatre and I can say it was well worth the trip. While there are many stops left on this world tour, check for availability soon as I see a lot of shows are already sold out. Click the link for tour dates near you.
https://www.dogstarofficial.com
Check out their new release as well:
