Monday, May 31, 1999
Dogstar crowd comes to ogle Keanu Reeves
BY CHRIS VARIAS
Enquirer contributor
It would make sense for Dogstar to be considered hot property if this were earlier in the '90s, during the post-Nirvana alternative-rock bonanza. Record labels then were snatching up poppy, modern-rock bands like Dogstar — Friday night's headliner at Bogart's.
Their sound, a sort of Bush-meets-the-Gin Blossoms (the Bush Blossoms, anyone? It'd be a less-stupid name than Dogstar) is not only unfashionable, it's uninspired.
But there's an explanation for why Dogstar is a hot property.
And rarely do you see a crowd — an overwhelmingly female crowd — so fixated upon the bass player, especially a bass player who doesn't sing.
There's an explanation for that, too.
The reason, to quote any random, screaming attendant, was: “Keanu! Keanu!”
Film star Keanu Reeves was thumping bass. Make no mistake, the actor of marginal ability on bass and dreamy looks on screen drew in the audience. Bogart's floor was about half-full.
It was a multiracial, multigenerational group of women, and very territorial. . Many claimed their spots at the front of the room well before opening act Moke began to play at 8:30 p.m. When Dogstar took the stage at 9:45, elbows went up, and any woman looking to sneak to the front for a better view had to be prepared for shoving or a challenge to fight. There's little time for sisterhood when Keanu's in the house.
Keanu didn't doll himself up for the show. He wore a black T-shirt and black jeans. He had major bed head, and a beard in its early stages. “He still looks beautiful,” reported an unidentified witness.
Dogstar played for an hour, performing several songs from an album that is scheduled for an October release. They covered the Carpenter's “Superstar,” ground previously paved by Sonic Youth, one of Keanu's favorite bands.
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Dogstar crowd comes to ogle Keanu Reeves
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