Reeves shuns spotlight in Dogstar

Geoff Carter

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 11:07 a.m.

Playing two nights ago at Boulder Station: "The Matrix," on two screens.

Playing that same night at the Railhead lounge: "Dogstar: The Matrix 2."

I chose the latter -- having seen the original three times -- but I found the plot of the second to be a bit convoluted for my tastes. In this production, hero protagonist Neo -- another expert, low-key performance by Keanu Reeves -- tries to foil The Agents by posing as a musician in a middling alternative pop trio called Dogstar. It was low on action -- Reeves just played bass, hunched over like Piltdown Man, trying not to smile and once, in a burst of dramatic invention, he clapped.

The framing device was OK. His "band" was opening the second annual Emerging Artists and Talent in Music (EAT'M) conference, a meeting of musicians and music industry folk masterminded by Lisa Tenner and Sue Shifrin-Cassidy -- who, with audacious performances, play themselves. And Rob Mailhouse, recently of "Sports Night," does a nice turn as the drummer.

All that was missing was Hugo Weaving, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, the mind-blowing special effects, the plot twists, the dialogue and, oh yes, the songs.

I hate to do that. I didn't want to open up with some cheesy, unfunny "Matrix" framing device, but Dogstar left me precious few alternatives. There's just not that much to them. Reeves, Mailhouse and vocalist/guitarist Bret Domrose plug at it earnestly, and Reeves does his level best to avoid the spotlight (actually, he overdoes it -- the other two players were lit while he stood in the dark, and he never once raised his head). But the hard fact of the matter is that Dogstar never seems to be giving any more than its members gave in rehearsal, the players exhausted by their day jobs.

It's called noodling in some (polite) circles. Hell, I do it. The only difference between Keanu's band and whatever project I walk into is that Reeves is the best-looking man in the world, and I am, as far as I know, not.

It's hard to figure out. Why would a guy with a $145 million-and-climbing gross waste his time with a band? And why is he so embarrassed by his day job? He's a decent actor. It shouldn't be too far a stretch to act like he's enjoying himself while he's playing -- to step into the light. Who ever heard of a Real Rock Star masquerading as a mere musician?

Whatever the case, Dogstar's set is ripe with fair two-chord ballads and mid-tempo rockers. They sounded about as good as your brother's band, unless your brother's band is really good. Like many of the bands playing the festival, Dogstar opened with its inoffensive set. Domrose matched the phrase "I miss the night, I miss the day" with "blown away," and there's no denying those phrases rhyme. Best song of the set was "Washington," although all the songs sounded kind of similar.

And then ... and then The Agents burst through the ceiling! Yeah! And the boys ran up the walls, dodging bullets and flying beer bottles in ultra-cool slow motion, and they ... packed the tour van, picked up some salty food and a couple of six-packs, and drove to the next stop on their two-week club tour.