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

Part 2. The Concert

The Dog Stars emerge. The crowd greats them with a tremendous roar. Rob comes out waving. He's in a dark T-shirt, with his pants that only reach to his lower calf, leaving his white socks clearly visible below. He wears a slight stubble. Bret comes out in a black button-up shirt--the one he wore at Santa Cruz, with the short sleeves and cuffs--black jeans and black boots. His hair is medium length, not too long in back, but he's got these long strands that later on will hang down over his face as he rocks out. Keanu comes on stage bowing his head. He's got on a black T-shirt, no holes. He's wearing the Timberland boots. His hair is short and looks very dark, kinda messed up, like usual, but not really spiky. He's got a light stubble on his cheeks, the patchy stubble we are familiar with.

The crowd keeps yelling. As Ke bends slightly to pick up his guitar and put the strap over his shoulder, he smiles at something. A big smile. He's smiling. Friends turn to each other in the audience and smile too. Keanu is smiling. There's a feeling of relief, release. It's gonna be okay--that's what I felt in that moment, what I think a lot of us felt.

Look at Keanu's jeans. Black-brown jeans, the material softer than most jeans. The disreputable kind of jeans I'd tell my son he would need to change before going out in public--threadbare at the knees, like the man scrambled around on the floor too much and just about worn the fabric through. And as Keanu turns--yep, lighter patches on the rear, like he's scooted around the floor on his butt. This has to be one of his oldest, maybe one of his favorite, pair of jeans. It makes me smile to think of those jeans. He's thin though--Neo thin. Those jeans flare pretty loose around his thighs. But Ke looks robust, healthy and clear-eyed, not tired.

The music soars, beginning, as usual with Alarming. Everything is perfect. No technical difficulties. No flubs. And Bret--he's in great voice. There is an intensity about Bret's performance this night that I hadn't seen before. He grimaces, even, sometimes, as he sings. Long blond streaks of his hair hang over his face. Beautiful. He grabs you and takes you into the music. And there seems to be something else tonight. Bret seems to be coming out of himself, out of the music--more aware of the audience. And there is definitely something flowing from Rob, and, especially, Bret to Keanu--support, camaraderie, yeah, call it what it is: love. Bret smiles at Keanu and Ke smiles back. Bret goes to stage right and jams with Keanu. Yeah, they are together. Playing together and to the audience.

The colored lights swirl, the audience dances in place, feeling the music. I watch Rob close his eyes as he drums. The bass and the drums together, then separately, drive the rhythm. I watch Ke's long fingers on the strings, plucking out the music. Ke looks out to the audience. He leans his head back. Sometimes that tongue emerges as he plays. It makes you laugh; it's childlike. Ke moves toward Bret and they jam, leaning over, into, toward, each other. Ke plays on as he walks backward to his accustomed place. The light catches the front of Ke's guitar--there are fingerprints all over it. A new song is about to begin, Keanu bounces straight up and down a couple of times, like he can't contain the music about to come out of his body, through those fingers. He sings along to Cornerstore.

Bret talks to the audience. He's happy to be here in his home town. He spots someone he knows. Kris down in front of Bret, is waving a device that says "Dogstar rocks"--you can see the words in red LED lights as she twirls the thing. "Cool," says Bret. She offers him the thing. "No, thanks, you keep it. What would I do with it all day at my house?" he says with a little laugh.

Now they do "Blown Away." The music drives into you soul. Keanu sings along again. I'm so close I can hear him though he has no mike (or do I imagine it?).

All during the concert we take our eyes off the stage every once in a while to look around. Friends and acquaintances everywhere. Ain't the Net wonderful? All enjoying the music. All full of gladness to be there. Clapping, cheering, dancing overtly or subtly, looking on, hesitating to blink, as if to memorize every move, listening to pick up every note, every word, singing along too. The guys just got to feel the great experience we are all having because of them--because they came out to entertain us. Because they can create such great music.

They take off their gear. They stop and leave the stage. We cheer for them to come back. Bret comes out and picks up his acoustic guitar. He fools around with some funky song. Weird and kind of funny. The other Dog Boys return. Bret kids around with Keanu, pretending to start a song and stopping. Ke looks down and laughs, that humble kind of loose and relaxed stance he sometimes has, standing in the middle of the stage now. Kiki just keeps jamming on, improvising notes. They do, I'm told, Heaven from Hell (Pink Floyd). "Well that may be the last time we do that one," says Bret. Hey, I it sounded good to me, though a bit less melodic than most DS numbers.

They play on. They do a great new song, "America." Bret sings high up at the top of his range--what a great voice. The drumming and the bass parts to this song are complex, intricate. It's great. They go into "Denial." We all know that's gonna be the last song. It's been great. But its gonna be over. Over too soon, our time in Dogstar Heaven.