hello!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have witnessed the stuff of legends.

Last week, I was in Seattle and my older cousin Leonard and I went to Auburn, WA to see The Sounds, Paramore and No Doubt. It was entertaining from the moment we sat down to the second we drove out of the parking lot. Here's my recollection of what happened that night.

As my cousin and I pulled into the gravel parking lot of the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA I didn't have the usual "going to a show" anticipation that I usually get. (You know? The excitement that builds in the pit of your stomach as your realize that the moment you've been waiting for is drawing nigh?) No, there were no pre-show butterflies this time around. I told people I was "stoked" and "excited" partially out of pure habit and partially in an attempt to convince myself that there was a real sense of excitement. I hoped that it would hit me when I got there, but it hadn't.

I suppose I didn't have ample time to build-up suspense, seeing as how I found out I was attending less than a week prior, but still, the importance of what I was about to see was NOT lost on me. After all, I was going to see No Doubt. I said it myself, it was a hot ticket! Plus, in my opinion, they're a defining band that stuck it out through the 90's and were able to adapt their music to the transitioning times as the new millenium rolled around. Almost anyone is familiar with at least one No Doubt song! On top of that, they were being supported by Paramore. How much more of a kick-ass guarantee did I need? I love Paramore! I've seen them twice before and now I was getting to see them again! I had done everything to prep myself for the concert; burned a mixed cd of songs from bands on the lineup, perused Buzznet to see what other people said about the tour, guessed at the setlist, and even thought and imagined how the show was going to look and sound. My brain could not wrap around a reason why I was not excited.

We hopped into the snaking line amongst teenies and diehards alike, fortunate enough to end up in front of a burly group of mid-twenties-to-early-thirties-aged women unable to refrain from constant criticism of unsuspecting passersby. (I was bemused enough to pick up the catch phrase "note to bitches" from them, which was the chorus of each criticism that they disguised as pieces of advice meant for the greater good.) The rest of the show-going population that I observed in line was an incredibly diverse group of people. Parents with ND t-shirts stringing along children wearing Paramore apparel, teenagers with their friends, boyfriends with girlfriends, ladies on a girls night out and even the occasional male-only groups. I stood bewildered at the demographic that this tour appealed to. Even my cousin and I belonged in the *generational gap* category, he's about twice my age but we were both interested in going to this concert.

After some patience, we passed through the amphitheatre grounds turnstiles and went straight for the merch booth, but as we waited in line I could hear the melodic wails belonging to Maja Ivarsson and the dance-savvy electronica flavor that is undeniably The Sounds. I itched to see them on stage, but I stuck around to purchase my merch before the rush and we were able to find our seats just in time for the closing song in the set. Maja was a tour de force, jumping around in the highest heels I've ever seen, keeping in perfect time to the beat, and even bold enough to kneel on the stage in her dress to worship a solo delivered by guitarist Felix Rodriguez. Their live performance seemed incredibly in tune. The kids in the pit, otherwise uninterested or polite, seemed tempted to bounce during the song. In conclusion, I've only officially seen about 4 minutes worth of a performance from The Sounds, but even from the third tier of seats, they managed to leave an impression on me. I hope I get another opportunity to see them sometime.

Photo Credit: Ryan Russell

The pair next to me politely asked me if Paramore was a good band, because they had never heard of them before. I nearly keeled over in surprise. It was an odd concept for me to grasp (not that I didn't understand that everyone was there for No Doubt), Paramore is a pretty hugely popular band in my eyes, just because I'm used to 'everyone' knowing Paramore. Which pretty much put into perspective exactly how big of a deal No Doubt is. It's trippy that Paramore has enough draw for their own headlining tour yet they are supporting a MUCH bigger cause. I wanna hug and congratulate whoever put this lineup together.

It had been just short of one year since I last saw Hayley, Taylor and the Farro Boys, but Paramore is the kind of band whose performance burns in your brain. I sat in quiet anticipation of what I knew was going to be a good show.

After the roadies finished setting up, that familiar hard hititng snare and ripping guitar introduced the crowd to Misery Business, then after the signature "We Are Paramooooore!" the band ripped into For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic. I stood up and trying my best to rock out amidst people who were not so stoked on Paramore, until a lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to sit because the people behind me couldn't see. Total buzzkill. I obliged because it wasn't worth it and I wasn't overly excited anyway. To be perfectly honest, Paramore's stage show was entirely predictable and offered no surprises to me. But then again I'm pretty obsessed with watching them. They're a consistently amazing live show and I wasn't disappointed. Pressure was next, and the ever-classy Hayley Williams stopped mid-chorus to break up some rowdy pit kids. I love it when bands are sweet like that. Other highlights from the set included; a rendition of When It Rains (which served as a delightful energy break in the set and a showcase of Hayley's beautiful voice), the first time I witnessed Ignorance performed live (a terrific live song, really), got a taste of Where The Lines Overlap (a lovely song off the upcoming brand new eyes), the announcement of Taylor's first tour officially in the band's lineup (YAY!), the standard That's What You Get (dedicated to Zac's new snare, apparently), and closing off with Decode (undeniably a good song, in spite of certain cinema associations). All in all, despite the fact that they weren't headliners, they owned the stage and surely gained some fans in the process.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for.

I define myself as the run-of-the-mill No Doubt fan. I can sing along to the singles but I've never owned an album and sadly, I couldn't remember the setlist for you, luckily setlist.fm takes care of that for me and for you!

Edit this setlist | More No Doubt setlists

 

A huge white sheet was held up in front of the stage while intro music played (I think it was the Battlestar Galactica theme song?) and large silhouettes of each member, one by one, "walked" up to the front and grew larger, coaxing the crowd to make noise. An uproar naturally occured, and when the last silhouette, curvy and female in contrast to the other three, walked up, the uproar unleashed in a wild frenzy. At the pinnacle of the noise, the sheet dropped and there they were. The owners of the silhouettes, along with two others at the keyboard/percussion/brass position posed on stage and wasted no time launching into Spiderwebs. That's when it hit me. I fully understood the scope of what I was watching, and I was completely stoked. The girl was skanking, she was skanking like I've never seen skanking ever before. Just like that, I felt like I was taken back to the 90's when ska and punk reigned on little outdoor stages, or at least back to a time when uniquely rebellious girls refused to date on principle, and fell in love with the charming, yet rugged bad boy, and Cheap Trick covers were performed from the top of school rooftops (see 10 Things I Hate About You).

 

You see, I don't usually get starstruck, but No Doubt-era Gwen Stefani is really a sight to behold. I was captivated by the fact that I was watching her, and more importantly, her abs. I had forgotten about how often Gwen ended up in the "Best Beach Bodies" section and even with the occasional "Get Abs Like Gwen!" headlines in magazines throughout the 90's and early 2000's. As soon as Hella Good started, the entire amphitheater launched into a sing-a-long and during the dance break it was signature Gwen, push-ups and all. Every person in the entire place went crazy, and at the end Ms. Stefani demanded that every single person jump up and down in rhythm. Just like that, we obeyed, and it was kind of empowering to share one thing in common with every single person in the area. Just when I thought it couldn't get cooler, Gwen told everyone in the seats to turn around and look up at the lawn. She then commanded the lawn (which was entirely full, it looked like a pit in itself) to jump up and down like before as we in the seats and down in the pit watched.

 

At the end of the song, Gwen told us it was about their 40th show on tour so they were all warmed up at this point, back in the groove. She thanked the fans for support over the years, and then did something I've never seen done before. She stopped mid sentence to read a sign being held up by a fan. Apparently a couple had named their newborn daughter Gwen, after her. She reached into the crowd and pulled the sign up onto the stage and asked everyone if we wanted to see the new mini-incarnation of her. She showed it to the jumbotron cameras, kissed the picture on the sign, and gave it back to the crowd members. They slowed it down with Underneath It All, in which the crowd was demanded to moan and grunt along.

 

The set went for awhile quite classically, song after song, with a really cool video being played as visual aide. Same type of scene with the crowd jumping up and down singing along word for word, an eyeliner-clad Adrian pounding out on the drums, and Tony and Tom jumping around with each other like entertaining, coordinated spazzes. Bathwater and its bassline were particularly fun for us to dance around to. Again, Rosalie was in disbelief that she was watching these songs on stage. Seriously, none of them looked like they had aged a bit. There was also a sense of comfort, they were in their element. During the Skatalites cover, Gwen changed outfits, and Hey Baby gave me the inexplicable craving to go home and play Rock Band.

 

The next event of note wasn't until Running. This was my favorite part of the set, because it was particularly poignant. The big screen backdrop played old grainy videos (I'm sure some of them never-before-seen) of the band back in the days. Scenes varied from in their pajamas at practice space, sleeping in the van on tour, playing on a little outside stage, excited about a poster with them third billed in an intimate club and selling merch. It was cool to see, especially for a fan around my age (who was probably still sucking from a bottle at the time some of those videos were recorded), and told a great story about where they've been to get where they are. For older fans, it was most definitely a trip down nostalgia avenue. 

 

The lighters came out for Don't Speak, which evoked a powerfully weird emotion from me. I was weirded out that I was seeing and hearing this song live. For me, Don't Speak is one of those songs that will get stuck in my head when no song is stuck in my head. It's also a song I sing often when someone else says something to the effect of "Don't speak" or "Shut up" or "Be quiet". I don't really no why, but after singing that chorus so often in my life, it was really freaking cool to be belting it out with Gwen.

 

During Just A Girl, which I originally thought was going to be accompanied by fan videos, there was no visual aide. Just the band and the song, which worked out better, I think. The middle of the song, Gwen required a "repeat after me" where she asked the guys to sing the chorus after her. It was weak, obviously, since there aren't that many guys who would proudly sing out that they were "just a girl in the world" :P It was comical, nonetheless. Example A of the band's sense of humor. Then it was the girls turn, and suddenly I got a taste of what it must have felt like to be a riotGrrl and I was standing next to women that probably participated in the movement when they were around my age. Wicked cool.

 

The band left the stage after that, and so did a ton of seated fans looking to beat traffic out of the parking lot. Most of us knew better than that, we stayed and cheered and waited for the encore. Gwen in a new outfit, she greeted us again and read another sign out of the audience. This one read "Gwen Sign My Tattoo!" Conversation occured, but we could only hear Gwen's side as she spoke into the mic.

 

Gwen: So, I sign it and then what? It becomes permanent?
Gwen: *smile* You're going to get my signature tatooed on your arm?
Gwen: ...Alright come up here.

The lucky woman got pulled up as the rest of us were in awe, then she and Gwen danced on stage as the rest of the band played a bit of interlude music. The jumbotron cams recorded the event for all of us to see. The woman (probably in her 30s) then bowed at Gwen, thanked her and went back down into the crowd semi-hysterical as the crowd applauded crazily. It was awesome.

Then Rock Steady, Stand and Deliver, and the MUCH anticipated Sunday Morning (not by me, but I heard same hardcores talking about how they'd claw someone's eyes out if Sunday Morning wasn't played), closed off the set.

I am thoroughly excited to hear what inspiration this tour offered, as the band is in the process of trying to create new music. At the end of it all, I only have one thing to say.

 

Welcome Back, No Doubt. We've missed you.