In its 23-year career as a live band, No Doubt mastered the art of crowd-pleasing. For its tour, which is supposed to help inspire the band’s first new material since 2001’s “Rock Steady,” No Doubt dusted off a beloved collection of hits for a night of high-energy and nostalgia. Whether anyone in the crowd loved or hated Gwen Stefani’s solo career, her new sneakers, ponytail, and indubitable chemistry with the boys of No Doubt made everyone forget it happened.
After fans were fired up by a “Clockwork Orange”-inspired silhouette opening, the band played old favorite “Spiderwebs,” calling for the audience to jam as if it had been recorded yesterday. The high-energy set continued with more recent hits, “Hella Good” and “Underneath It All,” before moving to a skank-able version of “Excuse Me Mr.”
Drummer Adrian Young, a noted concert cross-dresser and nudist, didn’t shy away from a tutu during the show’s encore, but the band’s usually outlandish fashion sense seemed a bit toned down since its last tour in 2004. (Perhaps Gwen has outgrown her midriff-bearing and bum-flaps.) Even more apparent were the changes in Stefani’s personal life since No Doubt last toured (a topic that cannot be avoided if you’ve ever heard a No Doubt song).
Before playing “Simple Kind Of Life,” a track she penned about the insecurities of being single at 30, Stefani noted how much the meaning of the song has changed since the birth of her two sons, Kingston and Zuma. As she belted the line, “I always thought I’d be a mom,” the crowd erupted into cheer as if it was their best friend they were happy for. And really, why shouldn’t No Doubt fans feel that sort of connection with their favorite front woman? In one night, Stefani used concertgoers’ cameras to take pictures of herself, accepted home-made gifts from the crowd, pointed out stage divers to the security guards and even ran out into the lawn to treat the less-fortunate fans in the back rows to a crowd sing-along of “Just A Girl.”
The band even offered a bit of trivia between songs. (“Different People” was the first song Gwen ever wrote, while “Rock Steady” is her “favorite No Doubt song, ever.”)
It was No Doubt’s sheer dedication to connecting with its audience that transcended the band members’ music and made them a down-right fantastic live band. They kept the energy high and came across as completely gratified to still have fans singing every word to “Don’t Speak.”
The only thing missing was a change of pace throughout the show. Fans welcomed hits like “Bathwater” and “Hey Baby” with roaring applause, but with no new material to work with, the show didn’t steer too far from the set of their 2004 Single’s Tour. Lesser known “Tragic Kingdom” cuts like “End It On This” were welcomed, but the absence of a two- or three-song acoustic set did not go unnoticed this time around.
The most interesting part for the die-hard fans in the front rows was the band’s neo-New-Waved-out rendition of Adam and the Ants classic, “Stand and Deliver.” While its recorded cover met mixed reviews a few months back, a set of marching-band style drums brought the track to life and made for the show’s quirkiest and funniest moment. Before fans could fathom the utter coolness of all the band members lining up to pound a cadence together, the show’s closer, “Sunday Morning” kicked in, with Stefani promising the crowd, “We’ll be back.”
For No Doubt first-timers, the show provided a fantastic wrap-up of its career since the success of “Tragic Kingdom,” and for the veteran No Doubt-ers, it provided a fresh reminder of why they loved the band in the first place. While most fans may be eager for a look into No Doubt’s future, they were given quite a fun reunion to hold them over as they wait.
““ Alex Wolf
E-mail Wolf at awolf@media.ucla.edu.