No Doubt Push, Shove, Shout and Let it All Out at SoCal Show: Concert Review

Yes, No Doubt has been a band since 1986, but even the most hardened of road warriors would be putting their performing chops and stage stamina to the test with a seven-night run at L.A.'s Gibson Amphitheatre. The fact that the band hasn't had a new album in over a decade? A disadvantage to most, but not this four-piece fronted by Gwen Stefani.

In fact, she was more worried about the Friday night crowd's resilience, and midway through their scheduled performances, having previously played shows on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, Stefani acknowledged the turnout with a thank you: "You've been working all week, you're exhausted, and you still f---ing came to see us," she said to rapturous applause from the 6,000-plus audience members.

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While the back of the house happily sang along with beers in hand, engaging mostly in the band's biggest hits "Just a Girl," "Don't Speak," "Hella Good," "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Settle Down," it was the pit that was filled with superfans. Among them: a man with Stefani's face tattooed on his arms, a woman desperately hoping for a Stefani-designed wedding gown, devotees sporting hand-made signs, and a 20-something who was invited on stage to display her sign that read, "I've been listening to No Doubt for 17 years."

By our count, that puts her right around the Tragic Kingdom and Beacon Street era, but not quite at the ultimate fan status of their 1992 self-titled debut. Nonetheless, Stefani was impressed with the fan's commitment and invited her up on stage to "make out or something" during the encore. Alas, they did not lock lips, but there were several hugs and bassist Tony Kanal stepped in to snap an iPhone photo of the duo in front of the audience. Talk about a show memento.

Opening about 20 minutes behind schedule, Stefani hit the stage with the energy of a pop star have her age, jumping around in a sparkly silver romper and a long black jacket, paired, of course, with black lace-up boots and fishnet stockings. The 43-year-old mother of two hardly looked the part of parent, exhibiting her royal rock highness status on "Push and Shove," "It's My Life" and "Hella Good." As Kanal strived to keep up with Stefani's energy (decades after ending their relationship, the two still clearly have chemistry -- frequently dancing together and getting lost in the music), Stefani shows no signs of slowing down and miraculously manages to hold on to her breath control in the process. Unlike many live shows, however, the stage went completely dark between songs with an audible pause. The mini-breaks did not result in any set changes, so one can only assume they were there to allow Stefani a quick recovery before whirling back on stage.

"I'm getting such a good vibe tonight," Stefani mused after "Ex-Girlfriend," one of the night's most well-received hits, in which the entire auditorium -- loud and without hesitation -- finished the track with a rousing "But I shoulda thought of that before we kissed."

Things did slow down for the regga-rific "Underneath It All," featuring a trumpet solo from Stephen Bradley, the acoustic "Hey You" and the ballad "Simple Kind of Life," clearly penned prior to Stefani's marriage to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale and the subsequent birth of their two children. As she crooned "I always thought I'd be a mom," a smile crept to Stefani's lips and the crowd went wild. Watching her on stage, it's puzzling to connect Gwen Stefani the superstar with Gwen Stefani the mom -- a sensation probably not unfamiliar to her two sons.

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Those who were new to the No Doubt concert experience may have been surprised at the presence of trumpeter Bradley and trombonist Gabrial McNair, who also aided Stefani on vocals. The duo are rarely included in the band's promotional materials, but have been touring with the band since the mid-1990s.

Among the most visually performances: "One More Summer" and "Sunday Morning." While tonally different, each song included a backdrop of what looked like personal home footage. On "Summer," it was video of a family at the beach circa the 1970s and on "Sunday," there was staged footage from inside Kanal, Tom Dumont, Adrian Young and Stefani's respective homes. Each donning white robes, the video chronicles their routines on -- you guessed it -- Sunday mornings, in which they read the paper, drink coffee and play with their kids.

The group reached a crescendo with the song that made No Doubt famous: "Just a Girl." It came just before the encore and Stefani held nothing back. Indeed, when she needed more, the power singer challenged the audience to chant along until her ears bled. Naturally, she then instructed all the men in the audience to sing along with the chorus and then later teased that the women would put them to shame. They did.

By the time the encore came around, it seemed there was little left to be played. Their current single, "Looking Hot," of course, but what else? Changing from her romper into something straight out of her '90s closet (a sparkly red crop top and billowy red pants with sneakers), Stefani put her rock-hard abs on display and looked, well, hot.

They next launched into "Total Hate," which was selected as a fan request online. "I thought this song was retired, but apparently not," Stefani said as she introduced it. And before taking their final bow, No Doubt kicked things back up a notch with "Spiderwebs." At the end of it all, they made a less-than-dramatic exit from the stage, instead opting to stay and sign autographs for fans lucky enough to nab front row seats. After a few minutes of hand-shaking and high-fiving, they waved goodbye and calmly made their way backstage as the audience, equally well-behaved, exited the Gibson.

If No Doubt has mellowed, it seems unavoidable that their fanbase has, too. But for one night (or seven), all were transported back to the glory of the '90s. If nothing else, the performance proved that while the Push and Shove-era will still please loyal fans, it's the old classics that just might be impossible to top.

Set List:

Push and Shove
It's My Life
Hella Good
Underneath It All
Ex-Girlfriend
Hey Baby
New

Acoustic Set
Hey You
Sparkle
Simple Kind of Life
One More Summer

Sunday Morning
Bathwater
Settle Down
Don't Speak
Just a Girl

Encore
Guns of Navarone (The Skatalites cover)
Looking Hot
Total Hate (Fan Request)
Spiderwebs

Email: Sophie.Schillaci@thr.com; Twitter: @SophieSchillaci

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No Doubt Plays Surprise Set at Night 2 of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas

Midway through Neon Trees’ set during Sunday’s night two of KROQ’s 23rd annual Almost Acoustic Christmas, singer Tyler Glenn marveled, “This is the best lineup ever." While that might have been a bit of an overstatement, the multiact charity concert was, to borrow a song title from surprise special guests No Doubt, hella good.

After recently wrapping their own seven-night stand at the same venue, Gwen Stefani and company were shoehorned in between third-billed fun. and second-billed Jack White and had the crowd so jazzed that you had to wonder if anyone would have any energy left for the former White Stripes frontman and headliners The Killers. Yet both acts managed to hold their own.

CONCERT REVIEW: Gwen Stefani and Jakob Dylan Surprise, Lumineers Impress During Night 1 of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas

White came out with guns blazing, leading his all-male combo in a squealing blast of guitar noise that began just as No Doubt left the stage -- before his introduction and the turntable stage was put in motion to reveal him and his five-piece band. It continued as he ripped into "16 Saltines" followed by "Freedom at 21," the two most-rocking songs from his Grammy-nominated solo debut, Blunderbuss. Throughout his 45-minute set, White played selections from his varied career and various projects -- including The Dead Weather’s "I Cut Like a Buffalo," The Raconteurs’ "Steady, as She Goes," his Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi collaboration "Two Against One" -- and was one of the only acts on the bill to embrace the "almost acoustic" tag, with The White Stripes’ "Hotel Yorba" and "We’re Going to be Friends." He wrapped things up with a furious version of the Stripes’ "Seven Nation Army" that had you convinced, amid a night full of posing and preening, that he’s nothing short of the real deal.

The Killers took the stage following a brief break but also managed to make quite an entrance, doing their 2005 hit "Mr. Brightside" with the lights on. The Las Vegas quartet, led by frontman Brandon Flowers, seems to still aspire for that holy crossroads where Bruce Springsteen meets U2, and on that unattainable quest they’ve managed to crank out quite a catalog of hits. That was made clear in their 45-minute set, which ran the gamut from the goofy but infectious "Human" (sample lyric, "Are we human or are we dancer?" Is Flowers singing about a reindeer?) to the current hit "Miss Atomic Bomb." Nearing the end of the set, Flowers noted that the show had run beyond its originally scheduled six hours, saying, "I know you’ve been here a long time and seen a lot of bands, but do you have one more song left in you?" The Killers answered with their 2006 modern-rock chart-topper "When You Were Young," and the crowd obliged.

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Third-billed fun. is the breakthrough act of 2012, recently racking up six Grammy nominations including the big four of album, record and song of the year and best new artist, and they didn’t disappoint. The trio, augmented by three support musicians, is led by frontman Nate Ruess, who has the pinup-boy looks of Mark Wahlberg and a voice at times reminiscent of Queen’s Freddie Mercury. The band reached its full stride at the conclusion of the 30-minute set with the back-to-back blasts of their hit anthems "We Are Young" and "Some Nights," hitting an emotional chord with the mostly young crowd going through the pains and joys of growing up.

In general, these types of radio station-sponsored festivals are only as good as that station’s playlist at any given time, and for fans of KROQ, it’s been a good year. The station, which prides itself as being cutting edge (at least, as cutting edge as a major-market commercial outlet can be), has embraced two burgeoning trends at seemingly opposite ends of the musical spectrum -- electronic dance music and acoustic-based folk rock -- and both genres were represented Sunday night.

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French act M83, the night’s other recent multi-Grammy nominee, fleshed out its electronic-heavy sound with guitar and bass but rocked just as hard when the band members put the guitars down and jammed on keyboards and electronic drums. And they retained their human touch with Anthony Gonzalez’s ethereal but warm vocals, a mix of traditional and electronic drums and the sax solo in signature hit "Midnight City."

Boston-based electronic prepsters Passion Pit weren’t quite as successful, but the quartet showed chutzpah in starting the set with its current hit "Take a Walk." Despite a technical hiccup that clipped their "Moth’s Wings," the band were able to maintain the momentum throughout its set.

On the acoustic side, Icelandic indie-folk act Of Monsters and Men showed that it’s primed to follow the success of Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers with a sweet mix of male and female vocals, acoustic instruments and tasteful accents of trumpet and accordion. Although its set was marred by a technical glitch that sounded like the air-traffic control room at LAX has been patched into the P.A., the band was able to win the crowd over with its hit "Little Talks."

CONCERT REVIEW: Neon Trees at Webster Hall

In the more traditional alt-rock vein, Neon Trees’ ultra-commercial, new wave revivalist sound left some hipsters doubting the band’s authenticity. Unquestionably, the Provo, Utah, quartet isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s hard to deny the catchiness of hits "Animal" and "Everybody Talks," and frontman Tyler Glenn has a voice that at times sounds like Billy Idol’s and some moves like Michael Jackson.

L.A.-based quintet Grouplove managed to be more fun than fun., thanks to the exuberance of singer-guitarist Christian Zucconi and singer-keyboardist Hannah Hooper and brilliants songs like the hit "Tongue Tied."

Openers Imagine Dragons and Alex Clare have yet to prove they’ll advance past one-hit wonder status, though the former put on an energetic set, highlighted by the hit "It’s Time." Electro-soul singer Clare wasn’t as successful, with his cover of Prince’s "When Doves Cry" coming off stilted. Although he turned things around with his monster hit and Mircosoft commercial theme "Too Close," at this point he seems likely to join Matisyahu -- the other recent Orthodox Jew pop star -- as a cult act.

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