Bret singing....ゥ

Bret and Keanu jamming... ゥ

Keanu Rocks!! ゥ

Rob Rocks!! ゥ

1. Part 1. Pre-Concert Happenings.
2. Part 2. The Concert.
3. Part 2. After the show.

Keanuette from Keanu A to Z put up the pics on http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4292757247

Spuddie posted her nice review to Keanu Reeves Community in Heavenly Breeze Over the Moutains.

SOLID SOUND. Conert Review Back Beat in San Jose, Ca. 15 Apr 01

Date:16-Apr-2001
From:Dogstar Official Messagebord
Author:RavenHair

GOOD JOB GUYS! Excellent job Bret on Vocals... Awesome ... Keanu on Bass.... the drums kicked ass You guys have a great sound. I really enjoyed your concert. Also, everyone in the band looked happy, healthy. I am sure San Jose was just the place they wanted to be tonite. I saw Dogstar in Dec 2000 @ Slims in San Fran. At Slims the monitor sound was off. But tonite... it was perfectly balanced. I stood directly in the middle of the floor while you guys were playing the acoustics were great. Everyone was able to hear all channels and levels. ....... AWESOME>. I heard more than one person say that they really did not expect Dogstar to be sooooooooooo Good..... And you guys are..... Thanks again.... I had a great sound of a time! Oh yeah .....the sound was even great over the screaming chics. You guys are WANTED MEN....Most assured....

This is my 2nd show I've been to for Dogstar. I must say, this was a better show than the L.A. show. Bret did a lot more talking to the audience and we just ate it up. Keanu acknowledge the audience a lot more at this show too. All he had to do was give a little glance away from his bass guitar and have a look other than being into the music and the crowd went wild! Rob seemed to be tucked in the back on the drums. It wasn't a big stage so he stayed put until their break and then until the end of the show.

They told us there were no camera's allowed but there were SOOO many camera's it was pitifull. I even saw a video camera! If anyone out there has pictures of the show, could you e-mail them to me so I can put them in my scrapbook? (SkiingSone@aol.com) One person had a really cool gadgit, when they would twirl it around, it would say "Dogstar Rocks" in red LED letters. The guys thought it was pretty cool too.

My friend Lynn and I had a great spot to watch the show. We had good visual on all 3 members. We were up from the floor so nobody was in our way.

It seemed like they were having a lot of fun at this show. Bret was playing around with Keanu by pretending to start the song and watch Keanu get into the groove and then stopping to make the joke on him. Keanu would just smile. They looked like friends up there having a good time. Keanu seemed like he had the groove in him and didn't want to let it go.

The opening band wasn't bad. They needed to turn the volume down a bit and I think it would have sounded better. Some of their songs were good songs. When they started their show they were the epitome of people who look in the mirror to see what their show stance is going to be. Lynn and I just looked at each other and laughed and said "possers". Once they got into their show, they got into the playing no the possing. Well, everyone but the bass player. I really think that guy spends all his time in the mirror with his guitar to see which way he looks better. All his movements seemed so staged. He even put on sunglasses for about 30 seconds and then put them up on top of his head because I'm sure he thinks he looks cool that way. OK, I'll stop tearing up the band now. They weren't a bad band, just a fun band to make fun of their bass player and all their 1 word song titles.

Dogstar opened up with Alarming (just like in L.A.). Bret did a cover of Pink Flyod's Heaven from Hell. (not sure of the spelling or the title-but I hope you know what I mean) They did one song from their new CD that is not out yet because as Bret put it, "we're not done with it. We haven't even started it yet." It was a good song. And some old songs too.

I can't put everything in order for you or give too much detail about everything because I get lost in the music at concerts. I really do enjoy their music. It just seems to take you to another place and you have peace and enjoyment.

I'm not sure if they gave autographs after the show, we didn't want to hang in the crowd that was forming by the bathrooms waiting for the band to pass by.

Sorry this was soo long with not much detail. But I hope I can give you a little light on what the show was like. Oh yeah, there were a lot of well-mannered ladies at this show. You know they were there to see Keanu, not the music. I didn't see much of them rocking out to the music. The crowd was just a whole different crowd than LA.

I hope you all had a nice Easter.

Sonya

*First off, I left most names out of this since I am posting it in a few Places, but A great big WOOF goes out to: Ah Nutts, Her sis and Ma, Julie, Suzy, SPUDDIE(you rule),Sandra from Chi and her sis "Lefty"(?), Bichamalo, My Las Vegas friends and carmates,Jo and Maria, and to Susan and Loretta from LA and the willcall line from HELL-Plus Mare, Charlene, and Anja. Hi to Akemi, too. ~~~~~Ok now, about the gig:

We got to the club around 1:00. The infamous "girls in black" were already there (if you have been to a couple shows or more, you know EXACTLY who I mean-talked to one of them inside, she's actually pretty nice) Luckily our group was big enough (2 more girls from Chicago met us at the house that morning and would be staying that night-making the total 11- hyped-up-giddy-goofy Dogheads) to always have a few in line while others ate, ran to the store/bathroom/wandered around behind the club. There ended up being two lines, a ticket holders line and a will-call line for ppl who charged their tix online and picked them up that night. My friend that I came with , Maria and I ended up in the front of the will call line talking to 2 other girls from LA...The whole 2 line thing was ultimately stupid, since all the ticket holders had already turned in their tickets and gotten the same dumb green armbands we had, but we did as we were told and stayed in our line, which was further from the door.

Keanu arrived in a white stretch limo that went to the back. A few people managed to wander around and catch him smoking, I wasn't there , though. Rumor has it that one of the brothers W. came in the limo, too. We waited and waited and then were told we had to wait longer. We had security asking US why we were in a seperate line, and it was starting to look like we weren't going to be let in at the same time as the others... I really had to squawk to several people trying to make sure that we didn't get dicked for doing what we were told...sure enough they opened the doors and the ticket line started going in, luckily after about a dozen people, a head security guy actually stopped that line and let us in. Keanu's side filled up first (natch) but I got a choice spot just left of center, in front of where Bret would be, which is actually not bad at all, not quite so much pushing and good views of everything (including the feet, unobstructed by monitors). I had one of our Team hold my place and went and got some Corona's. We goofed on the (fine as hell)security guys and got them relaxed.

Hopefully they got the message that none of US were the RUSH-the-stage-type, in fact most of us would be just as protective if not more so of any of the Dogboys. We waited, and drank.. We played with our flourescent glo-sticks and with the twirly LED light thing I brought that said DOGSTAR-ROCKS. We waited a little longer, then the Radio People came out and babbled a bit, and then the opening Band , Electromotive, came on. They were actually pretty good, sounded like STP. The singer was a tasty morsel of eye-candy , complete with nipple rings visible thru his sheer black shirt. (I wanted to do the same dirty-dirty things to him that I wanted to get Mark from Bottlefly up against the wall for.) They gave out copies of their CD, and I got lucky and he handed me one.

Concerts are even funner with prizes. There was no curtain at this club so we watched the Tonys (both road guys are named Tony...makes things VERY confusing when telling stories) set up the drums and the rest of the gear for a while, then the radio people came back and talked to the crowd. There was definate emphasis on KEANU and not the band, which some of us who have come to love all the guys find a little annoying. I guess it sells tickets, though... I wonder how all the guys feel about this new marketing approach.

FINALLY Dogstar hits the stage. Starting with "Alarming" , as usual. (The sets have pretty much been the same each time I have seen them) One of the yet to be released songs, "I Confess" was about 5th or 6th- It's probably my new favorite. WE ARE READY FOR A NEW CD, GUYS! The sound was good, and the guys seemed pleased with the full house. *NOTE TO THE TONYS:THUMBS UP to whoever decided to set up the drums so we can SEE ROB, too...about damn time. Bret was there right in front of me, bangs and all. My GOD, that boy can play guitar.... Keanu was really energetic and amazingly attentive to the crowd.

I got tired of twirling the LED and passed it off to one of the other girls(NUTTS!)...of course THAT was when it caught Keanu's eye, he watched it for a sec, reading it I guess, then smiled and laughed. There is a dumb pointy DJ booth in the middle of the stage and Rob was set up to the (stage)right of it, instead of center stage. Keanu had a lot of room on his side and made use of it. He was all over the place. His bass playing gets better every time I see them, I love to watch his hands. He paid more attention to the crowd than at the HOB shows, but this stage was lower so it was easier to connect, I think. (I HATED the HOB stage) I am not a screamer, but I did hold up my hand in the ASL "I love you" gesture. He saw it. He leaned toward me as he played, looked into my eyes and told me "Thank You" It doesn't seem so generic when it happens to you, lemme tell ya.

Lots of nods and smiles. From all the guys. Robs sings along sometimes. Keanu only does on Cornerstore...at the one break. (both unmiked, singing for themselves, which is even cooler) The Music itself was right on. I actually was having so much fun just rocking out that I can't remember most of the finer details of the show . It was a great time, though. Everyone felt it.

Keanu seemed happy to be playing, he seemed to be loving the love that must have been coming off in waves from all of us. The show was mostly free from tech problems, the crowd was charged but not dangerous, It was probably the best of the 5 shows I have seen. I got to banter for a bit with Bret when He came back on stage for the standard accoustic part that always is the first third of the encore. He liked the Twirly thing, and I offered it to him, but he declined. GOD, I hope he knew I was JOKING when I shouted "Freebird" :) He asked if I knew the words. I told him no, and he played "Wish You Were Here" (again) Rob and Keanu came back and they played "Blessed" (unreleased) and then (as usual) closed with "Denial"

First and foremost: ~~~~DOGSTAR KICKED BUTT!!!!~~~~

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for having this show!

This show was fantastic! I had such a great time. But then I normally do. I love to watch these guys live. A webcast just wouldn't be the same. But I completely understand the effect it would have on fans that are not close by. I hope they seriously consider it for them! :o)

We got there about 1ish and were like 7th or so in line. All during this time, we would talk about past shows, especially the Santa Cruz show at the Catalyst. There was so much mis-information about this current show, we had to ask Ernie, the security guard, to verify what was true. None of us were sure about the dress code, so everyone brought a change of clothes, lol! Quick change artist in the back of the van! LOL! There was confusion about when the doors would open, ticket said 8, website said 6. But one thing was for sure, it was a sold out show! WAY TO GO!!

We saw the limo come through, and several people went back to see who it was. It happened to be Keanu. I think someone mentioned that his mother was there as well. After the limo, we started to hear them practicing. Alarming and Halo were the ones I recognized. At 5:30 people started to seriously line up. Of course, as normal Dogboyz fashion, they didn't let us in until about 7 I think. But it was well worth the wait.

I was able to get a center spot along with Spuddie. We had a fabulous view of all 3 since the stage was so small. They had a barricade with 4 security gaurds, as if we were going to rush the stage! I thought that was hilarious. I told Dolph Lundgren Jr. (an absolutely georgeous security gaurd) that this was not necessary since it was 21 and over. He agreed, but said it was his job.

The first act was 'Electromotive' very loud music for such a small place. I did like some of the songs, as they had a very hard edged beat. They threw their cd's out to the audience, I would say about a dozen or more. After them, the Tony's came out to set up Dogstar's equipment. Anticipation filled the air. Then they came out! Bret in his black shirt and pants, Rob in his pants and T-shirt, Keanu in his t-shirt (minus the holes, lol!) and pants.

They fell into their rythem immediately. They played with so much enthusiasm that was so evident to all the fans that I spoke with after the concert. Bret joked around with Krix (a fan and poster of the DMB)about the gizmo thing she brought, Keanu bounced around alot and that smile! OH! AND ROB!! we could actually see him and not just his legs and the cymbals!! So much so, that we saw him sing along with Bret. So why don't they give him a mic?

I am not sure about the song list. I know Spuddie nabbed a copy, so that is the best source for what order each song was played. I just know that the ended with Denial, my favorite song :o) All through the show there was this suit standing at the side of the stage with a real serious look on his face. Don't know what that was about, he just stood stone-faced all through the show.

Bret did his solo, sounded as if he had trouble with his guitar at the beginning, but it was corrected real soon. Once he finished his solo stuff, he waited a bit for Rob and Keanu to come back out, but they kept him waiting for just a bit longer. I think they either missed their cue or else just wanted a longer break :o) When they finally ended the show, Bret said his thank you's and goodbyes, Rob came around to the front to shake some hands before heading off the stage. AND KEANU actually went to the mic and said his thank you's, this was a first for me. I have never heard him talk so much! Again he only said about 3 or 4 senteces, but that is 2 or 3 more then I have ever heard him speak! What a treat!

There were talks about an after party...and some lucky fans did manage to go into the Jungle room with the guys, but they ended up leaving soon after. I think security screwed that one up.

Then it was like *poof* all done and gone!

It was a fabulous show! It was well worth the 8 hour road trip that we had! We were allowed to take pictures so a lot of people out there should have pictures to share (or hoard! LOL!).

I hope everyone gets a chance to see these guys live, they are SOFA KING awesome! :o)

Take care!
:o) Cheers! (o:

I'm back in Japan, safely. Thank you for Dogstar fans I met there. I was enjoying the whole thing, the concert and meeting many great fans. Dogstar fans are very nice people. Dogstar showed up on the stage around 10 p.m. The concert was sold out. So, ther were very big cloud. Dogstar were getting into it from the begining. And their playing was getting better and better !!! I think that this concert was the best I've ever listened. Especially Keanu was really great !!! I was amazing that Keanu's musical performance was wonderful and exciting. A fan in front line had a sparker that flashed "DOGSTAR ROCKS ". Dogstar loved it. I loved it, too !!! Dogstar !!! Thank you for the great concert. We love Dogstar very much. Akemi