Keanu Reeves’ ’90s band Dogstar made their live comeback this weekend at BottleRock Festival in Napa Valley, California.
The band played material from their two previous studio albums, 1996’s Our Little Visionary and 2000’s Happy Ending, along with new songs from their upcoming, as-yet-unannounced album.
Comprised of bassist Reeves, drummer Robert Mailhouse, and singer-guitarist Brett Domrose, Dogstar released two albums and an EP from 1996 to 2002 before breaking up. The band teased a comeback earlier this month, announcing that both new music and live shows were on the way.
In a pre-show interview with Billboard, Reeves described Dogstar as “something that’s part of my life.” Discussing the impetus to reunite the band, he explained, “I missed playing together, I missed writing together, I missed doing shows together. It’s something I’ve always missed. We came to a spot where we weren’t playing anymore, and I missed it … Once we started to play, and it felt good, and really positive and creative, that’s when it was like, ‘Okay, let’s make this happen.’”
We came to a spot where we weren’t playing anymore, and I missed it … Once we started to play, and it felt good, and really positive and creative, that’s when it was like.”
Though Dogstar have a grunge sound, Reeves recently admitted that his go-to band is dream-pop outfit Alvvays. The actor last starred in John Wick Chapter 4, and will next appear in a dark comedy written and directed by Jonah Hill as well as an Aziz Ansari feature co-starring Seth Rogen.
Keanu Reeves band Dogstar @BottleRockNapa pic.twitter.com/sXw9cCdKHn
— STEVE- BENI ️ BEAN RIP️ (@GHOSTofSURF) May 27, 2023
Dogstar just started!!! pic.twitter.com/mTVhmEmEho
— Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) May 27, 2023
Every time they show Keanu on the jumbo screen there are bursts of screams — and not just from me 🤩 #BottleRock pic.twitter.com/36IhqKbU6V
— Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) May 27, 2023
the return of Dogstar pic.twitter.com/gyFLPCEyOS
— Saul Levitz (@saullevitz) May 27, 2023
Setlist:
Lust
Sunrise
How the Story Ends
Everything Turns Around
Blonde
Lily
Glimmer
Sleep
Shallow Easy
Flowers
Upside
Breach
