Happy Now

After a delicious pre-concert nosh on the patio at Section 3, Melissa and I skipped on over to The Garage last Saturday night for a fun filled evening of 90s ska-pop nostalgia.


Through three glittery costume changes, Gwen Stefani and No Doubt took us back in time. Ms. Stefani, at 39 years old with her peroxide blond hair tied up in knots on her head, looked absolutely incredible. An animated and chatty performer, Gwen (as I've said before) seems more in her element with the band than she does when she's out doing her solo thing. Her charisma shined on every number. 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 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.


With no new album to push this go around, the quartet, which was aided by a trumpeter and trombonist, stuck to the hits. The bouncy "Spiderwebs" opened the 90-minute set that also included near-studio-perfect renditions of favourites like "Hella Good," "Underneath It All," "Running" and "Simple Kind of Life." The crowd gleefully transformed the anthems "Just a Girl" and "Don't Speak" into massive sing a-longs.


The show felt inspired, even though it was a reunion. Melissa and I shook our booties and sang along to every single song. It was hands down, one of the best shows I've ever seen- no doubt about it. (Ha)