Tuesday, November 5, 1996
The multiplatinum band from the not-so-tragic kingdom of Anaheim
gave a fearless and flawless performance Friday at the Universal
Amphitheater.By Mike Nazarinia
Daily Bruin Contributor
When one thinks of Anaheim and entertainment, Disneyland is
usually the first thing that comes to mind. But if you’re one of
the 3 million people who bought last year’s No Doubt release,
"Tragic Kingdom," you have no doubt that, at least musically, there
is plenty more to that city than just Mickey.
Gwen Stefani, No Doubt’s singer and charismatic centerpiece, led
the band at a Universal Amphitheater show Friday, along with Face
to Face and the Muffs. They played to a sold-out crowd of various
ages, but mostly to pubescent girls who were either chaperoned or
dropped off.
Add to this mix a group of teen-age boys that love Stefani, and
you’d think that you were at a high school costume ball. Probably
due to the previous night being Halloween, the girls all tried to
look as similar to Stefani as possible.
The six-membered group played their signature ska-reggae-punk
type of rock ‘n’ roll with machine-like precision for most of the
night, with Stefani acting much like an attention-starved little
girl waiting for gifts at Christmas. Pacing most of their songs at
top speed, Stefani would run and hop around the stage to the rhythm
of bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young.
Stefani’s active stage presence kept the audience engaged
throughout the night and the mosh pit happy. At one point she even
asked the boys in the audience to sing the chorus to "Just A Girl."
Once that was done, she had the girls do it, and then it was clear
just how much the girls related to her. Easily out-vocalizing the
boys, the girls began emulating their heroine role model by
mimicking her almost every move.
Kanal at times seemed like a man possessed by the Energizer
bunny with his bass acting like an extension of his soul. Each song
was played with the intensity that made "Tragic Kingdom" the smash
hit of this past year.
The musical highlight of the evening was "Don’t Speak," the
band’s current single. By injecting this slower, quieter song at
the right moment toward the end of the set, No Doubt showed off a
side that many people may not have been exposed to.
It’s taken No Doubt 10 years to reach "overnight" success, and
they payed tribute to Sublime,another band that has recently
reached mass appeal. After "Don’t Speak," right when the crowd was
at its quietest, No Doubt broke into "Pawn Shop," a song off
Sublime’s new album. What made it special was that No Doubt toured
with the Long Beach band for years before Sublime’s lead singer
passed away a few months ago.
If there was one thing that stood out that evening, it was
clearly the precision that No Doubt has reached from the constant
touring it has done over the last decade. On crowd favorites like
"Just A Girl" and "Spiderwebs," No Doubt changed the pace and
structure of the songs by slowing down to a near standstill and
then engaging the audience in a sing-along. It sometimes seemed as
if the band had reached a level that was too good for its own
good.
By being as tight as they were, and by giving the audience what
they wanted, No Doubt at times appeared to be scripted like a play.
Though their musicianship is unrivaled, the set could have seemed a
little less formal with a little more spontaneity. This could be a
result of playing the same songs night after night, with variation
that was in a sense pre-programmed. Despite this drawback, the
crowd still loved the action-packed show.
Gwen Stefani played to the crowd Friday at the Universal
Amphitheater.Trauma Records
No Doubt: (l. Â r.) Tony Kanal, Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont
and Adrian Young.