After a five-year absence, during which Stefani started a family and kicked a solo career into high gear, the band returned looking and sounding better than ever. While Young’s appearance (bare chest, heavy makeup and a gelled Mohawk) remains full-on flaky, Stefani, Dumont (right) and Kanal were resplendent in white-hot attire matching a well-designed and wide-open-spaces stage that allowed for a lot of running,
high-kicking, and group calisthenics. Near the end of the 90-minute show, before performing “Just A Girl,” Stefani even dropped down and gave the audience eight solid pushups, proving she’s still in amazing shape. No Doubt about that.
There was no fresh material – unless you consider a cover of Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver” new. But the familiar hits (“Spiderwebs,” “Simple Kind of Life,” “Hey Baby,” “Don’t Speak”) and occasional misses (“End It On This,” “Different People”) were bolstered by a powerful sound system, some creative and colorful videos (that sometimes served as a huge backdrop of nostalgia) and the group’s seemingly endless amount of energy. Not bad for a bunch of almost- or (in Dumont’s case) already-fortysomethings.
Stefani constantly stalked the stage, taking only two brief breaks for costume changes. The first came during the instrumental “Guns of Navarone,” which provided a showcase for percussionists/horn players/unofficial members Stephen Bradley and Gabe McNair, who strutted their stuff and lent some swanky ska and stylin’ funk to the event.
Yet, it was the still-smoking Stefani nearly everyone came to see. Her pretty blond hair bundled up in a series of complex braids, the fashion icon added some color to her all-white ensemble, taking off her classy jacket to reveal a neon green bra with straps that often were visible underneath her tank top tee. She first returned with a sequined black-and-white checkerboard outfit with black tights, then, for the three-song encore, a cute and glittery polo shirt with two-toned pants and sporty white boots.
Gwen (with Kanal, above left) and the guys, already hugely popular as Grammy-winning and multi-platinum selling artists before the hiatus, have apparently cleaned up their act.
Article comments
1 - melanie
Loved this concert and your review as well. Gwen, like a bottle of wine just gets better with age.
2 - Michael
I think you're right, Melanie. Hopefully, young Hayley and tough-as-nails Maja will learn a thing or two this summer from Gwen, who said she wants to try and hang out with her touring mates over the next couple of months.