Gwen Stefani

Photo gallery: Gwen Stefani rocks Blaisdell

Add this to the list of things you don't see in Hawai'i every day: A 37-year-old girl from Orange County, Calif., with dyed platinum blond hair leading a sold-out Blaisdell Arena crowd in the chant, "This (expletive) is bananas ... b-a-n-a-n-a-s!"

Asking several thousand fans to jump up and down and chant "ooh-ooh" as if grooving at Studio 54, and seeing them comply willingly? Homegirl managed that, too.

That's the kind of cheeky power Gwen Stefani — dance pop mega-star, No Doubt force of nature, hot mom, no one's hollaback girl — has over a crowd.

She has last night's bunch eating out of her hand from the second she gyrated out on stage Friday night, for the first of two Honolulu shows on her continuing "The Sweet Escape Tour."

Through 100 minutes, 16 songs culled from her two solo albums and 10 costume changes, Stefani was everything her fans waited six months to see and more. She was infectiously energetic. She seemed genuinely moved by the crowd's adulation and was never shy about showing it. She even jumped into the masses and sang a couple of songs from the tops of the risers, though it seemed she came close to being mobbed by fans.

In moments such as these, Gwen Stefani was all the way real — a ska-punk girl next door turned international superstar. Still wonderfully nerdy. Still goofy with amazement at her success.

If only Stefani's many ill-fitting songs and too-choreographed stage production came off as real, I might have enjoyed her show a lot more.

Instead, last night left me reminiscing about a Blaisdell night five years ago, with a Stefani who seemed far more spontaneous a stage presence. A Stefani who was more comfortable belting the new wave rock 'n' ska of No Doubt than playing diva. A vocalist more believable and relatable, sharing the real-life hell of songs like "Don't Speak" and "Ex-Girlfriend" instead of spelling out fruit.

Now, I didn't want Gwen even touching "Just A Girl" or "Sunday Morning" last night without indispensable No Doubt mates Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young by her side. And to her credit, she didn't. But I can't say I really wanted to hear her yodel either. And that, she did.

Dancing cops, her quartet of dancers, the Harajuku Girls, sporting prison wear and Stefani in striped hot pants, a matching top and black hose, no less, couldn't drain the bouncy fun out of opening song "The Sweet Escape." And her hit "Rich Girl" continued the opening momentum, with its infectious "Fiddler on the Roof"-on-steroids electro-beat, Stefani's golden pony tail bouncing up and down to well-timed moves and a shower of faux greenbacks falling from the rafters.

What followed wasn't always as fun.

Dumbed down Stefani bubblegum pop filler like "Yummy," "Danger Zone" and "Now That You Got It" were tough to sit through, no matter how many costume changes. But man, the mother of year-old Kingston James McGregor Rossdale can still wear whatever she darn well pleases, and wear it well.

Some of the fashion selections our Gwen threw together? A Japanese-inspired dress with a puffed-out mini skirt and what appeared to be an faux obi riding her lower back. A patterned black-and-white vest over a white collared shirt-and-tie combo matched with sparkly-red hot pants. A spangly black-and-white cut-off top and track pants combo that, while nicely showing off Stefani's very tight tummy, looked more like the required uniform for a spinning class taught by Donatella Versace.

Thankfully, Stefani was smart enough to pull her show back from the brink whenever it threatened to collapse into danceteria clockwork. Ballads like "4 in the Morning," "Cool" and "Wonderful Life" were full of the cool, retro, real-girl-in-love lyrics that are Stefani's aces in the hole, solo and with No Doubt. While keeping Stefani wonderfully alone on stage, the ballads also showed that she is a a terrific live vocalist, capable of considerable power and subtle nuances.

That said, the less written about the techno-march disaster that is "Wind It Up" — which managed to wean a special kind of horror out of the benign art of yodeling and beloved musical "The Sound of Music" all in one shot — the better.

Stefani's six-piece band, complete with a brass section featuring longtime No Doubt tour regulars Stephen Bradley and Gabriel McNair, was wonderfully tight. Former David Bowie bassist/vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey even got to show off her considerable vocal skills on the lovely ballad "The Real Thing." (Bonus points to Stefani for even daring to match vocal skills with the simply amazing Dorsey on this one.)

The audience was heavy with young girls — singing every word of every song by heart — some in klatches of a half dozen or more, some accompanied by moms and dads. A dearth of folks in the crowd much older than 30 who weren't with their kids was as clear a sign as any that No Doubt fans largely chose to sit out this Gwen appearance until the band's return to recording and touring, which Stefani promised was a "go" post-tour.

When all was said and done, however, Stefani's always front-and-center, always very real appreciation for her fans was likely the best memory culled from last night's show.

When not jumping into the audience and trying to scale the loges with security hot on her heels, Stefani shared stories about taking baby Kingston for his first dip into Hawaiian waters this week and being too broke to buy Hawaiian heirloom jewelry on her first Maui trip at age 19.

In times like these, Stefani showed the fun, endearing and still very grateful side of her that all the costume changes, unnecessary stage production, slickly dumb songs and accompanying bling can't bury.

Until she returns to Hawai'i with No Doubt — writer crosses his fingers here — this would have to do.