I NOW I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME BUT THE SHOW KICKED F*CKING A$$!!!!!!!!

First of all ~ My thanks for the guys for putting on a F@CKING FANTASTIC show! Second a great big (((((HUG)))) and thanks to all the friends (mostly from the DMB ~ Nena, LaFemme Victoria and her friend, Sandra & Lety, Renee & hubby, Spuddie & Pamela and Miho) that rocked out with me! And my closest dear friends in the world that put up with ME (Gloria (my sis), Julie and Susie)!!! We had a BLAST!!!!

We got to the HOB around 2pm. The first girl in line was there at 5:30AM~talk about fan devotion! :o) Spuddie, Pamela, Sandra and Nena were already waiting in line. A short time later while trying to amuse ourselves to pass the time away, Bret drives up (with a GUEST *wink* *wink*). Then I was facing the street (it's a one way street, if you are coming down that street then 90% chance you are going to the HOB) and I see this familiar looking guy on a NORTON Motorcycle. Yup, it was Keanu :o) looking fabulous! (FYI to Keanu ~ Got Helmet! Will travel! :o)!!) He passes us by, after telling us "You guys are crazy!" LOL!, then proceeds to park his bike by the fence. A short time later, Rob drives up in his car and proceeds to inform the Valet that he is part of the group DOGSTAR and then heads on into the HOB.

They let us in the HOB at 6:30. We all rush to get a good location. The show was not sold out (although with the performance they gave, people should be kicking themselves in the BUTT for not going!) so we had ample time to "drink, drink, drink, drink, drink and drink" talk and laugh. About 7:30 the opening band comes on, Silver Jet I believe the name was, they had some really good beats. A good opening band to get everyone pumped up for Dogstar. Their stint was REALLY short though about a 1/2 hour. Then we waited about an HOUR for Dogstar to come on afterward (by that time we were practically falling asleep waiting! LOL!).

When they did come on (Same attire as always ~ Bret shaved, Keanu didn't and Rob always shaves) it was to start off with...Alarming! Our little group sang along with Bret. To which he made a comment "It took us 7 years for you guys to learn the words to the songs" or something to that effect. They continued with the norm play list and added in some new songs as well.

For the Solo they proceeded to setup 2 barstools on the stage, hmmmm we were all wondering what was going to happen, then Bret shows up followed by Richie, a former Dogstar member is what I was told. You guys are going to kill me, the song that they played was FANTASTIC but I don't know the name of the song! Its a classic, thats about all I can tell you. Hopefully someone will shed some light on this in another review. I was not hired for my reporting skills ;o) LOL! Can you tell?

After a thunderous round of applause, Rob and Keanu came back on stage. Keanu donning his "Stars & Stripes" bass. They sang the new song "America" and included the long rendition of "Denial" WHICH I LOVE!! Excellent addition guys! The guys had energy that night. They were all just pounding on their instruments with such force and determination. When they play like that, sometimes all you can do is just step back and wonder in awe. But, since we couldn't step back, we just kept jammin along with them! At the end of the show, they all came to the front of the stage, put their arms around each other's shoulders and I can't remember if they bowed or just waved, but it was a KODAK moment if there ever was one!

SPEAKING OF KODAK! No pictures were allowed! :o( I saw flashes going off, so I thought cool! and whipped out my camera, got a picture of Bret, then security came and said NO pictures, so I did what every self respecting nutt would do, I gave him ... a razzberry :o) j/k!

By 10:45 it was over. By 11:30 we were outside in the throng of people waiting for their cars from valet. The guys came out about 1ish. Keanu had an HOB security guard with him while he walked to his bike and putting on his helmet. After he left, Bret came out with his guest, then Rob came running out to catch up with Bret. I guess they were going down to one of the clubs on the strip.

And that was that. No exciting news like Gar & Zon's, but theres always Nevada! LOL!

:) Cheers!

Well, as Ah Nutts stated sooo eloquently :) DOGSTAR *ROCKED* the house!!!! The House of Blues that is! My goodness what a energetic and fantastic performance!! One of the best I've seen!

Okay, fashion report ('cause I know people want to know)... Keanu was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, blue jeans and his boots. Scruffy beard. Bret was clean shaven wearing a black shirt that buttoned and had a collar, black pants/jeans and black shoes. Rob I didn't see very much off (those drums hide him, bummer!), but he was wearing khaki like shorts (but they're long) and sorry I forgot the color of the t-shirt he was wearing (he was clean shaven too, per usual).

They opened with Alarming (and these are in no particular order and I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch), Swim, Wish You Were Here, America, Blessed, Flowers, History Light, the acoustic Led Zeppelin song with Ritchie Kotzen (sp?) (who used to be in another band. Ritchie also performed with Dogstar on Regis and I think Jay Leno. Bret called Ritchie a "genius" after they played the song!), they also had a new song (I know they had a few), but I forgot the title...I guess I'll never be a reporter. Ha! Ha!. PLus some other songs.... I believe their set lasted an hour or so.

Bret mis cued or something one time and said, "If I was an airline pilot we'd be dead." Bret also thanked everyone for coming out on a Saturday night saying that it was great to have somewhere to go on a Saturday (or something to that effect). Also at one point Bret said that when Keanu comes into band rehearsals he tells them we have to write songs NOW and cracks the whip. Then Keanu made a crack the whip motion with his hand & nodded his head saying "Yep, it's true", which made me laugh! Bret made some other comments as well, but it was kind of hard to hear him.

Keanu started with a sort of maroon colored bass, but after Bret and Ritchies acoustic set he switched to the red, white and blue flag one. It was really neat looking and I'm glad that I got to see it! Very cool!

I don't know *exactly* how many people were there at the show!? I know it wasn't sold out like the last HOB show (in March), but it was pretty full. A lot of people were singing the lyrics and Bret said something like "There are some people in the front row that really know the lyrics" or something like that (it's been a long night, I can't remember ALL the details sorry!).

Anyways, it was just a really great performance!! I know L.A. is their hometown, but IMO they seem to always seem to have a little more energy when they're playing at home and boy did they have it last night! Bret came over to Keanu's side of the stage a few times, Keanu stood on Rob's drum stand (I thought he was going to jump off, but I don't think he really had his balance. LOL!) and they all just really pounded their instruments and played their little hearts out. They did all come together at the end of the show and Keanu did his chest-heart thank you gesture and Rob waved and Bret smiled. Nice! They totally looked like they were having a blast!!

I only saw a couple of things thrown on stage. Something red (underwear perhaps?) and a shirt (I think it was a shirt. It was pretty big). I don't know about the camera rules first hand, since I didn't attempt to bring one in. I only saw a few flashes in the beginning, so I believe Ah Nutts when she says they were enforcing the NO PHOTOS rule.

So in a nutshell here's my jumbled HOB review! Thanks guys!! You put on a FANTASTIC show!!!! Have fun in Nevada and Vegas!! Wish I could be there! :)

Oh yeah, the opening band used to be called Silver Jet, but now their something rock or rock something!? Does anyone remember their name? Luke the singer said that was what they were calling themselves now, but it could change. They consisted of four guys and they only played about 4 or 5 songs. They were really good as well! Like Ah Nutts said it was about a half an hour set and then we had to wait an HOUR before dogstar came on. Oh well, it was worth it!! (excuse the typos). DOGSTAR ROCKS!! They get better each time I see them!!!

My friends, what a delight it is for me to write to you and tell you what a fantastic job the boys did at the House of Blues on July 14! I am absolutely overjoyed by this performance - the second one in a row to be virtually flawless! Here you go, in Spuddie fashion, my review:

Pamsey and I rented a sleek, black Toyota Solara for our trek down to LA. The car made us feel "southern Californian" (even though when I lived in So Cal I actually drove a Ford Escort...) and it gave us a very comfortable ride, though, and we listened to Happy Ending along the way. We had the misfortune of leaving the Bay Area just after 10:00 pm. After about 4 hours of driving or so, I figured we would be set for a place for lodging. As our luck would have it, lodging was not to be found until we reached Camarillo at 5:00 am! It was a nice place and we rested comfortably and enjoyed the final hour or so of driving until we reached the House of Blues at noon. Note to visitors to the House of Blues: don't bother with the valet parking - it takes too long - park at the Hyatt across the street, as we did.

Waiting in line at the House of Blues as we arrived was a small mixture of old and new friends. Cecelia was first (in a mighty comfortable chair I might add), followed by our friends Julie and Lisa, who introduced us to Kelly. Sandra was there without her sister. Visions of Tom Hulce's character being dropped off by his friends in the film Parenthood raced through our minds as she explained her sister's absence. But Sandra assured us that she was not thrown from her sister's car.

We were later joined by many familiar faces including Ah Nutts, Gloria, Julie, Miho, Renee and many, many others (don't send me any hate mail if I left your name out, I'm soooooooo tired!). To our surprise, we found our 6 1/2 hour wait in line to be a very pleasant one - punctuated with amusing stories and anecdotes (names and facts are being withheld to protect the innocent), good eating and drinking (nachos and red wine) and the arrival of Bret, Rob and Keanu (white SUV, white car and Norton motorcycle, respectively) as well as a few vaguely familiar faces (Was that someone from one of my top five favorite Keanu films? Is that the lead singer from the band that toured with Dogstar in 1997? Is that who we think it is?)

Bret arrived with a few friends, I believe Rob came alone although I couldn't see for sure and no one was riding with Keanu on the Norton. All these concerts must be affecting my hearing because I thought Keanu said "This is great" as he drove slowly past our small group around 3:30, but I was corrected. He was jokingly saying "You guys are crazy", or so I've been told. I had visions of the boys stopping by our group to say 'hello' or shake hands or make fun of us or something, because there weren't many of us there at all (perhaps around 15 or so) by the time all three had arrived. I thought we didn't seem like a very threatening lot. But, alas, it did not happen.

At 6:30, the doors opened and the room slowly filled at a methodic pace. I was front and just slightly to the left of center with Pam, Victoria and Miho to my left and Julie and Lisa to my right. From our positions we could touch the stage. The opening band began to play just before 8:00. The lead singer was familiar to long-time Dogstar fans as his former band toured with the boys. The new band had a name that escapes me, but we were told it could change anyway. To me, this band of four wasn't as polished as the band that opened for Dogstar at Bogart's, but they were good to listen to, fun to watch and they were danceable (!). They played only for a short time, perhaps only about a half dozen songs.

Dogstar took the stage a little late, closer to 9:00 than 8:30, but we had passed that time playing with the Skyliners and sharing a few laughs. For those of you who would send me hate mail if I didn't include it, the fashion report is: rock star clothes. They all wore dark t-shirts and blue jeans. Or something like that. I've decided that I don't want to report on what they wear anymore. The boys consistently wear this type of clothes (although Rob wears shorts frequently and Bret wore a neatly pressed button down shirt this evening) and unless they deviate from this norm, let's just say it is rock star clothes (Keanu's words, not mine).

As far as the facial hair portion of my report goes, Bret was clean shaven (yes!) and Keanu was sporting a few days growth. He didn't seem to be adding to the growth he had in Ohio. So let's suffice it to say that, without seeing them every day for the past two weeks, Mr. Domrose can grow a thicker, fuller beard in a shorter amount of time than Mr. Reeves. There, the game is over, the award has been given; but I'll keep up with the facial hair reports in my reviews because we never know what we are going to see! I think we should start placing bets.

Now with all of that out of the way, I am absolutely delighted to now describe for you this fantastic performance. As no surprise, they opened with Alarming. During this first song, Keanu started working the stage. He had never worked the stage this well in any of the previous concerts I had seen. He also did more things that I had not seen him do previously: he actually twirled around at one point (don't ask how he didn't get tangled in the cord to the bass) and he even jumped on the small portion of the platform that Rob was on. I thought he was going to fall off for sure! It was absolutely delightful to watch. Keanu gets very high marks in my book for working the stage the way he did and he plays the bass too!

Bret spoke to the crowd fairly often by introducing new songs and telling quips. He, too, worked the stage. He didn't move around any more or less than what I had previously seen, just the right amount at the right times. He seems to have fully grasped the 'working the stage' part of his performance now. I really enjoy watching this very talented man. He frequently used the equipment in front of him (and coincidentally, in front of us) as a platform of sorts during his performance. This is always dramatic and fun to watch. Interestingly, Keanu doesn't do that very often (I don't think he does it at all as a matter of fact). It is definitely a part of Bret's style and it is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Rob was on a platform and, in my opinion, he was too far away. I would have liked him to be about 3 feet or so closer to us. I could barely see his face (his eyes), even though he wasn't completely obscured by the cymbals. What can I say? He plays the drums. He wails on them big time and sweats profusely. He lip syncs and grimaces. From what I can tell, there is no doubt that he plays well.

The play list was familiar. They performed Alarming first (okay, guys, it is time to surprise us....how about starting with Halo and playing Alarming third instead?) and also performed Superstar (I'm hoping they will mercifully stop playing this song, although it is a crowd pleaser, for some reason, I don't like it....I'm gonna get hate mail...). Cornerstore, Slipping Down, Blown Away, Enemies, A Dreamtime, Swim and Your World were also performed along with the four new songs. The new songs seemed very polished and intact to my relatively untrained ears.

With the exception of a few awkward pauses in the dark in between songs, this performance by Dogstar ranks the highest of the dozen or so shows that I have seen. The energy level of the boys was high and plainly evident. They did not appear to have any technical difficulties (except minor lighting) and the music sounded absolutely perfect to me (forget what I said earlier about losing my hearing). They make slight changes when performing live to some songs, which only makes them better. Musically, it just doesn't get any better!

Wait! There's more! Beginning with Alarming and lasting throughout the show, I could hear the audience singing along. Now I have heard this before, but not at this level. I take this as a very good sign for Dogstar. The audience was singing their songs! Although people unfamiliar with Dogstar may have found this annoying, and I can't guess what the boys have to say about it, I do believe it is a good thing indeed. As a matter of fact, perhaps it is a sign that it is time for some more new tunes. Either way, I do believe that when an audience sings along during a performance it is a good thing. Congratulations, Dogstar!

There were two extra special treats also in store for us! First, when it was time for Bret to perform his solo, two stools and acoustic guitars were set up. This is something I had never seen before. Bret has always performed the solo as a solo (!) and he has always stood except once or twice when he performed Washington. We were utterly delighted to see Bret and Ritchie Kotzen (did I spell that right?) perform a duet! I was absolutely in awe at this pair, so much so that I forget what song they performed! At the end, if we weren't standing, I would have expected a standing ovation! Bret and Ritchie hugged when they concluded their duet. This was a moment to be treasured.

The second special treat was the final act by Dogstar. Never before had I seen all three members meet in the middle of the stage, virtually arm-in-arm and take a single bow. This was a Kodak moment! I was awestruck at this very talented trio. Dogstar shined with this performance and with their music. And I honestly believe this was the first time they truly connected with the fans, something this reviewer has been waiting a very long time to see happen. There were no giveaways of picks, drumsticks or playlists. There wasn't a lot of talk or banter between the group or to us. There were no pictures allowed either, but if you want to see what I did, the best thing is to play your Happy Ending CD at your favorite listening level, only slightly louder, close your eyes, shake your head, tap your feet, move your body and imagine this trio of gentlemen giving it their all with smiles on their faces.

Finally, today I said farewell to my final visitor from far away. Pamsey left for Rome this afternoon and I miss her. Thank you to Pamsey, Drom, Dazee and eBabe. I hope you all had a great time visiting California and seeing Dogstar. This past month has been a truly unforgettable experience because of your presence.

~~Spuddie

Hi I came back home safely.Thanks guys a lot of wishes. Thanks Ah-Nutss and Musiclvr and Spuddie for your great review. I will write the review with my personal experience.

North West26(NW26) I got on took off Kansai International Airport on schedule. But something happened.The people in the center said "Something exploded".And 20 minutes later the purser said so fast "There was an engin trouble and fly toward Narita to check the airplane".But we thought the height was not sufficient to fly to Tokyo apart 600 kiro meters from OSAKA.And he announced again "To go to Narita, we will discharge the fuel from both of the wings."

I sat at the window behind the right wing and saw that the fuel was sprinkled out from the wing.They seemed to discharge almost of the fuel in circling over the Pacific.20 munutes later,it stopped.Then I wondered if it would affect the ecology in the Pacific. But compared with the damage of our destroyed airplane,its damage would affect more,and I assented to this. I was so imprudent,but the view that the fuel was sprinked out from the wing in the twilight was so beautiful.Then I did not have my camera in my hand,I could not take a picture.But I will remember it forever.To be frank I did not know the real serious situation.

At last we arrived at Narita International air port.For the first time I landed there from Kansai International Airport.And the view was so beautiful,too.I love the airport in the twilight.And we went to the NW gate and waited for a hours

At last we left Japan.I knew the girl sitting next me and the couple behind us from Indiana.The girl told that the situation was more serious than we thought."When we took off,the parts supporting engine blew away,so the purser decieded to stop 2 of 4 engines.But they could not get the requried height of fly by only 2 engines,so emptied the fuel.Have you ever had such a experience? This accident happens frequently?

I had a lot of experience and needed the sleep for the HOB concert.But there was "SWEET NOVEMBER" with Chinese subtitles on screen. I had seen it twice in the past,but it was only natural to see till the end.Because of the happening(!?) I could sleep for only 3 hours in this flight.......(^^;

At last we arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 13:30 3 hours late.And I arrived at the hotel near the HOB at 15:00.And I went to the HOB where Spuddie and Ah-nutts and the MB friends were waiting

Since HOB show last March,I had never seen my friends Ah-Nutts & Gloria,Spuddie and I knew new friends Pamsy and Sandra and Angela and Maria.When we were talking about self-introduction and etc ,Spuddie says "The guy on the BIKE!". We looked out the entrance,The Bass player with black helmet and black sunglass and black jacket drove his Norton.He realized that we were at the entrance and chuckled and said "You guys're crazy!".After saying,on the slope he scraped his shoes or bike.Someone said "You are crazy,too!!(LOL)" behind him.Then I did not understand what he said,but I heard after then and wondered, "Am I crazy,too??".He stopped his Norton by the fence.about 15 minutes later the Drummer drove his white car and waved to us gently.And I knew many friends each other there.Thanks guys for your kindness.

Renee and her hubby arrived there.We were surprised her hubby breached his hair and both of them became rock'n roll!! STEVE YOU ARE SO COOL!!
At 18:30 PDT the HOB staff let us enter at last.Inspite of July,it was so cool in LA.I wore T shirt and jacket but many girls exposed their arm or shoulder.Did the guys feel so cool?Take care of yourself.

According to Ah-Nutts and Musiclvr,the opening band used to be called Silver Jet.I heard they were the opening band in Dogstar 1997 tour.For the first time I heard their music.I like their music,but I disagree that the drummer of the band joins the chorus....(^^;.Sorry to them.They did not read it??

After the section of the opening band,because of jet lag,I became so sleepy and would pass out.in the right Maria and Victoria and her friend and Renee and Ah-nutts and Spuddie and July and Lisa and talk about a lot of things.But I could not join to their conversation.Thanks Spuddie and Victoria for your calling.If you had not called me and encouraged me,I would have fainted.....But I heard the sound of Bret's guitar.

It was "Alarming".They said to the audience "WAKE UP!".
The electricity ran through my nervous system.Their sound become accurate and soulful than the last HOB that I attended.Bret sang in wide voice through his stomach (Do you change your vocalization?) and his guitar was so brilliant!!

They played 4 new songs,"I confess" , "Blessed!" , "floweres" and "America"
I'm sorry that I can't understand the lyrics at all and know how to quote about music,But I try to write about music.(Big Challenge!!)

I Confess
This music is a folk song style and with a bit of rock'n roll.It's similar to Washington?I love its emotional phrase.

Floweres
When Bret sang this song,He said to "Floweres" to floweres.It was so nice of you Bret!!
I love the piece so much.I love the Dogstar's bass phrase beating 16 in a bar,and my favorit things are so vivid in the piece.In the last phrase,all parts of the guitar and the bass and drum beat 16 and solid rock phrases broom out by Bret's guitar gradually.

Blessed!
In the beginning Bret's guitar 16-beat phrase is so fabulous and Keanu's bass and Rob's follows Bret's guitar.I love their ensemble!!And in the middle phrase the beat is so down and Bret and Keanu and Rob play so strongly.

America
In the beginning Bret's guitar 8-beat phrase is so fabulous and Keanu's bass is so melodious.There are the double flavours in the one song.I wonder for the piece the bass player bought his new guitar or for his new guitar they wrote this piece(just kidding....^^;)

1. Alarming
2. Slipping Down
3. Halo
4. I Confess
5. Enemies
6. Cornerstore
7. Superstar
8. Your World
9. Flowers
10. Blessed
11. Swim
12. A Dream Time
13. Blown Away
14. Gone to California (Led Zeppelin cover) with Ritchie Kotzen (Thanks Musiclvr & D !)
15. America
16. (??)
17. 1 minute - ad lib
18. Denial

The last time I arrived there,I did not walk around the HOB.so I explored the HOB and the restaurant and the shop.I was interested in the aroma candle for reluxzation,then gradually I was fainting and to greet to Ah-Nutts and my friends.We promised that we will meet at the Sunset Station.(I will work harder from tomorrow...^^;)

I arrived at Japan safely.The airplane had no trouble(^^).In the airplane "The wedding planner" was on screen.But without grance I slept or wrote the review.