Posted on: Sunday, August 11, 2002

CONCERT REVIEW
No Doubt's post-adolescent pop rocks Blaisdell

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

No Doubt drank in the sold out crowd of its first Blaisdell Arena headlining gig last night like a long-deserved glass of ice-cold water.

The band — vocalist Gwen Stefani, bassist Tony Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont, drummer Adrian Young — didn't run on stage. Instead, the band strolled out from its dressing rooms to the stage slowly, knowing it had this Honolulu audience in its palms two months ago.

Opening with a roof-tearing version of the fuzzy and frothy synth hit "Hella Good," No Doubt went on to fill its 95 minute performance with favorites mostly culled from its latest CD "Rock Steady" and blockbuster 1995 CD "Tragic Kingdom."

Dressed in a red tubetop, black and white checked pants and high-tops, and wrapped up with a blonde ponytail, Stefani played the role of flirty, beautiful and altogether inaccessible high-school head cheerleader to the hilt. Fashion highlights for the rest of the band included Dumont's oh-so-'80s white headband, Kanal's plaid pant and yellow tank combo, and Young's tight white sundress. That's right, a sundress!

Able assists by energetic sidemen Gabriel McNair and Stephen Bradley on horns and synth chores, allowed the band to tear into exuberant live versions of their older ska-pop hits and newer dance hall-inspired electro-pop.

The 18-song set found Stefani's voice strong and unquestionably live from the get-go on favorites like "Sunday Morning," "Excuse Me Mr." and "Just A Girl." The audience seemed to relish the classic ska-pop favorites best, roaring every time McNair or Bradley picked up their brass for solos.

The concert's heady peak was an impassioned take of the band's biggest hit "Don't Speak," during which the singer stepped out onto a small stage surrounded by fans.

Stefani even found time at its end to glare wickedly at ex-flame and "Speak" raison d'etre Kanal with appropriate self-righteous anger, while he returned an emotionless scowl. In all, a hokey Stevie-and-Lindsey-for-the-new-millennium moment that worked wonderfully.

Songs from the band's multi-layered and multi-produced "Rock Steady" like "Detective," "Hey Baby" and "Hella Good" came off surprisingly well live. The horn-heavy, languid "Underneath It All" was the clear audience favorite here.

The band opted for just four songs from its underappreciated "Return of Saturn" CD, but wisely chose the best tracks. "Ex-Girlfriend" and "New" — a pair of superb rock-based guitar and synth heavy tracks that cemented the band's move away from its ska-pop roots — wound up crowd faves as well.

As energetic as they sometimes were, Stefani's band mates couldn't help but look practically somnambulant as the singer belly danced, did a set of 10 push-ups, and prowled the stage like a loose tiger. The concert was light on special effects — tightly choreographed colored lights — and its stage design nicely spare — graffiti style lettering from the "Rock Steady" CD.

The concert ended with an single encore that included "Rock Steady" and a rousing "Spiderwebs" that had the entire arena dancing. Taken as a whole, the concert was as bouncily fun as it was slickly produced.

Very few music acts as big as No Doubt do post-adolescent perspective pop songs warning teens of the romantic highs and lows they're in for better than this band does right now. Let Madonna sing about what it feels like for a girl after 40, and Britney tackle being not a girl and not yet a woman.

After last night, I'll take Gwen Stefani talking smack about her ex- and current boyfriends any night I can get it.