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Stefani and the boys can still deliver, but the band needs to reinvent itself

BY JASMINE MARCUS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

When No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani sang, "Our love is rock steady" during the band's encore at their June 26 concert at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, N.J., it was a bit more prescriptive than descriptive.

Since the band went on hiatus in 2004, Stefani started a family and released two solo albums, 2004's Love. Angel. Music. Baby and 2006's The Sweet Escape. She has admitted that there was some tension upon her return to the band and noted that they have had difficulty writing new material.

For this reason, the band's current tour consists of a set of their greatest hits, including "Just a Girl," "Hey Baby," and "Sunday Morning."

Both bands flaunt blonde, female lead singers in an otherwise male-dominated band, and both Stefani and Fleetwood's Stevie Nicks took time off from their bands to release solo music before returning to the group once again.

The bands also share similar romantic histories between members. Just as Fleetwood Mac's Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, as well as John and Christine McVie, dated for several years, broke up, stayed in the band and wrote songs about it, so too did Stefani date No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal for seven years. Their breakup spawned much of the material for their first hit album, 1995's Tragic Kingdom, which has since sold over 16 million copies.

However, despite the band's rich history, Stefani made no mention of it during the show. And rather than acknowledging that many of their songs are over a decade old and trying to reinterpret them, it seemed as though the now almost middle-aged band was trying to pretend they are still the kids they were when the songs were written.

At one point, during the song "Bathwater," Stefani, chose to yell and highlight the lyric, "Why do I always want the bad boys?" as if trying to empathize with the mostly teenage audience.\

The words rang flat, however, since Stefani seems to have realized the dreams she once set out in the lyrics for the song "Simple Kind of Life:"

And all I wanted was the simple things
A simple kind of life
And all I needed was a simple man
So I could be a wife

These days, Stefani consistently graces the pages of gossip magazines with the two children she had in 2006 and 2008, with husband British rocker Gavin Rossdale, whose current hit love song "Love Remains the Same" contains the lyrics "You make me want to run till I find you."

Hardly a bad boy.

Still, the band was at its best playing their upbeat pop-rock songs tinged with ska and reggae beats, allowing the audience to sing and dance along to songs such as "Hella Good" as many of the band's music videos played in the background.

The crowd seemed especially pumped up for the band's reunion, braving thunderstorms and thick mud to watch the show.

At one point, Stefani yelled out to members of the audience standing on the lawn, "I see lightning! Are you guys OK?"

The band also pulled a super fan out of the audience carrying a sign that read, "I've seen No Doubt over 30 times. Can I introduce you?"

No Doubt let him do just that, claiming the stunt was unplanned.

One act that was surely planned, but whimsical nonetheless, was the band's cover of Adam Ant's "Stand and Deliver," performed during the encore.

As several large drums were lined up on stage, opening acts Paramore and Janelle Monáe returned to the stage. With almost a dozen musicians singing, drumming and jumping around on stage, the energy was electrified, especially since 20-year-old Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams seems to have made Stefani her role model.

Until now, No Doubt has seemingly possessed Fleetwood Mac's ability to reinvent itself. Just as Fleetwood Mac came out with a new sound for Tusk, so too did No Doubt change up their style for their most recent album, 2001's reggae-infused Rock Steady.

Hopefully, No Doubt will be able to reinvent itself once again to reflect their more mature personas so they can remain rock steady for years to come.