Boston Globe × June 27, 1997
Stefani’s charisma keeps No Doubt fans satisfied
NO DOUBT With Weezer At Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts last night
MANSFIELD – The popularity of No Doubt has been staggering. The Southern California pop-ska group has churned out hit single after hit single in the last two years, from the cutesy “Just a Girl” to the thoughtful ballad, “Don’t Speak.” The band’s album, “Tragic Kingdom,” has exceeded 7 million in sales and the cash registers are still counting.
No Doubt’s box office sales can’t be argued with, either. They packed the Worcester Centrum in April and drew a near-capacity 17,200 fans to Great Woods last night. Many of them were shrieking young girls who simply couldn’t get enough of singer Gwen Stefani and her mix of Betty Boop silliness and sexuality.
No Doubt is an overexposed, MTV-driven band that doesn’t have enough material to pull off an arena-style show just yet. Many of their ska-pumping songs sounded alike, but it was Stefani’s star power that somehow made it all work and brought a smile to your face.
Stefani is not to be confused with the best singer in the world. Her voice can get shrill and grating, but her effervescent personality and quirky theatrics reflect a special charisma. Last night she jumped atop speakers, raced across the stage like a track star, showed her strength (literally) by dragging bassist Tony Kanal across the floor in a playful moment, and captivated the crowd with her brash tongue and sing-along cheerleading.
She opened with “Tragic Kingdom,” then pogoed through “Different People,” which excited the frenzied young hormones in the coed mosh pit. (The first 11 rows of seats had been removed to make way for the moshers.) Stefani, looking Details-magazine hip in a sequined green halter top and black nylon running pants with a silver streak up the side, paid homage to her Orange County roots with a cover of the Vandals’ Christmas song (played in June, no less), “Oi to the World.”
Then came the show-stopper, “Just a Girl,” a boppy ska tune cut by a cool vamp by underrated guitarist Tom Dumont. Stefani told the girls to “shush” and asked the boys to sing, “I’m just a girl.” It was a little warped, but the boys accepted this lesson in gender-bending and sang along loudly.
No Doubt performed in front of a stage set that evoked a magic forest with multiple, gnarled tree limbs with lanterns hung on them. The magic didn’t always translate to the music, however, nor to a dumbing-down skit that found three Elvis impersonators (from the road crew, no doubt), flailing around on stage. But certain songs – an unplugged “Hey You” and the gorgeous “Don’t Speak” – showed that the band might have lasting appeal beyond their bubble-up-from-nowhere recent success.
Opening act Weezer was sly fun at times, but also frivolous. They had a strobe-lit “W” atop the stage that was a clear ripoff of Van Halen’s “VH.”
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