Dogstar + Fletch’r Fletch’r @ Roundhouse, Camden 13 June 2026
What is the definition of a rock concert that, in many ways, is not a rock concert? Probably an evening with Dogstar. From a spectator’s perspective, it was certainly an interesting evening.
Firstly, the audience. Without wishing to bring the wrath of womankind upon my thinning head, there was a predominance of middle-aged women who had clearly never been to a rock show before. The summer dresses, slingbacks and plastic glasses of wine and prosecco paid homage to that. Then there was the continuous screaming of “Keannooo…” and “Keanu, marry me…”. The male contingent, meanwhile, were predominantly there as the long-suffering partners and husbands of those women who wanted to get off with Keanu, or at least get a wave.
So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. There is actually only one attraction on display tonight, and that is Hollywood legend, Keanu Reeves. Quite honestly, he could have walked on stage, farted, walked off, and the majority of the audience would have gone home happy.
As a band, Dogstar provide a strong, settled performance. There are no theatrics on show, no instrumental wizardry, just a garage feel to the whole enterprise. Keanu Reeves lays down a solid bass backdrop to the tunes and is clearly aligned with drummer Robert Mailhouse in providing the engine room for the band, over which guitarist and vocalist Bret Domrose presides.
Musically, the band are split between an early, slightly punky garage feel and a more polished late U2 vibe, with Bret Domrose at times sounding remarkably like Bono. The slower songs have a more atmospheric, alternative feel to them, whereas the rockier tunes are rougher and rawer. The songs themselves are perfectly well-crafted, albeit on the short side. This is a band who go for short, punchy statements.
There is little banter or communication with the audience, other than a brief nod to a pub crawl in San Francisco before The Whisper is played, plus the obligatory round-up and introduction of the band members. With only three of them, this doesn’t take very long, although we do have to wait for the screams to subside after Keanu Reeves is introduced before the music continues.
Glimmer is probably the best song of the night. It’s a beautiful ballad, which sees the phone lights waved in the crowd.
Runway has a spiky, punky feel to it, a little reminiscent of The Knack’s My Sharona in places, although more punky bursts of energy ring through.
Unfortunately, the main set, consisting of 17 songs, is over in an hour, and the three-song encore lasts no more than ten minutes. It’s quite a short evening. There are no goodbyes. The band drop instruments, the house lights go up and they are gone, off on a long overnight trip to Download for their next show.
Dogstar setlist
- Siren
- Lust
- How the Story Ends
- Everything Turns Around
- Joy
- Wing
- This Sphere
- Blonde
- Glimmer
- Math
- The Whisper
- Shards of Rain
- Exalted
- Runway
- What Is
- Marmalade
- All in Now
Encore
- Punch the Sky
- Shallow Easy
- Breach
Fletch’r Fletch’r
Support tonight comes from Fletch’r Fletch’r, an indie pop band hailing from Hertfordshire but now based in Cornwall. They only have a short 25-minute set to show off their wares, yet they take the opportunity well. Having already had support slots with the likes of Imagine Dragons at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they are certainly not fazed by the Roundhouse, although they admit that it was a dream of theirs to play there.
Musically, they provide a form of thoughtful indie rock with some exquisite pop interludes. They are melodious, and the songs are well-formed and engaging.
Certainly, the audience take to them and are clearly enjoying the performance. It would have been interesting to hear more from them, but with the time limitation, they do what they can. The set appears to be based around new material, although there is a nod to their only EP released to date, 2025’s We All Feel The Same, through their first single, Jet Black.
New single Fucking With My Head — not sure how much mainstream radio play that will get — is a rocking slab of indie rock that has more of an alt-rock lean to it, while their final song, Life, has a saxophone break which transforms the song into something else. They are an excellent warm-up and hopefully we’ll get to catch them again soon.
Fletch’r Fletch’r setlist
- From Home
- Jet Black
- Passengers
- Streetlights
- Fucking With My Head
- One For The Record
- Life
WORDS: ADRIAN STONLEY PHOTOS: ROBERT SUTTON
