Wednesday night found us back at the Guild Theater for another Dogstar show, our 3rd time seeing them in the last year.
We were excited to get back to the Guild, and it was the first time for the Mrs. to see a show there. The Guild Theater is quickly becoming our favorite Bay Area venue! Great staff, great sound, great vibe…just an outstanding place for live music.
The opening band was a 4-piece outfit by the name of Archer Oh.
First time seeing them (or hearing of them for that matter!) and they knocked it out of the park! Their sound was sort of a mash-up of the Smiths and the Strokes, with a touch of surf and a hint of psychedelia thrown in the mix. Altogether unique. The performance was excellent- fresh, exciting and wholly unexpected. By the time the set was over, we were fans. So much so we stopped by the merch table and bought both their CDs. I will ABSOLUTELY go see them again, given the chance!
Dogstar hit the stage and was immediately beset with equipment troubles from the guitar rig, so they got off to a bit of a rocky start. The tech was able to get things running quickly however and they were off and running, playing essentially their new album in its entirety, with an old tune and a new song thrown in for good measure.
As per usual, most if the attention was focused on the bassist Keanu (who did a great job, to his credit!) but it was guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose that really carried the show. In spite of the initial gear wonkiness, he had an extremely strong performance. His guitar playing has only gotten stronger since the “record release” party back in December. I can only imagine his playing will be off the hook by the end of this tour with another 30 or so shows under his belt.
Aside from his mother, I’m probably Bret’s biggest fan, and it was really exciting to see him coming back to life on stage and doing his thing at such a high level. That is was at a “hometown” show made it all the more special.
Overall the band seems to have settled in and are getting comfortable with each other again after such a long hiatus. I would have LOVED to hear some of the songs from “Our Little Visionary” – a criminally underrated album – but I’m finding I really like the new songs. They show a lot of growth in the songwriting and the overall performance. I’ve got my order in for the new record when it comes out on October 6th, can’t wait to really dig in to it!
Overall it was a fantastic night. Great music, great, fun vibe in the hall, just an exceptional experience all around.
Thanks Archer Oh and Dogstar for an excellent night of music and some inspiration as well! We’ll see you again in December!
Thanks for stopping by!
The Boring Old Man 