Bands leave No Doubt in fans' hearts
By: Sarah Rodman - Boston Herald
October 21st 2002 8:20am
No Doubt, with Garbage, at the Worcester Centrum, last night.
Two of rock's fiercest female frontwomen kicked butt and took names last night at the Worcester Centrum.
Of course, the gentlemen in No Doubt and Garbage gave Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson terrific assistance during their respective sets, but it was definitely a fun night to be a female rock fan as the two bands teamed up for an exhilarating, high-energy show.
Part of what usually makes a No Doubt show such an effervescent good time is the sense that the band is in on the fun. That was the case last night as the quartet, aided nimbly by their two-man back-up vocalists and a horn section, arose from the gangway that ran down the center of the auditorium with big grins as they kicked into the irresistible New Wave bounce of ``Hella Good.''
In the tight 90-minute set that followed, the California rockers shared that giddiness with the virtually sold-out crowd as they dove into their catalog with gusto, slinking through the laid-back reggae of ``Underneath It All,'' bouncing through the percolating ska-punk of ``Sunday Morning,'' stomping their feet to the jagged dance hall grooves of ``Start the Fire'' and shimmying through the elegant pop of ``Simple Kind of Life.''
A short semi-unplugged interlude included a winsome acoustic version of the identity crisis ballad ``Magic's in the Make-Up,'' the harmony-rich ``Running'' and a ``spooky'' run through ``In My Head'' that found drummer Adrian Young making a righteous clatter on an electronic trigger pad contraption.
Newlywed Stefani was in great voice all night and her spirited ``Just a Girl'' drew a huge cheer as we were leaving to meet our deadline. A source inside says the band finished up with the hit trifecta ``Hey Baby,'' ``Don't Speak'' and ``Spiderwebs.'' Garbage's commercial fortunes may have dimmed in comparison to their headlining peers, but nothing could dampen the fierce excitement that Shirley Manson and the boys routinely cook up onstage.
Last night, Manson was ferocious, stalking the stage like a restless prizefighter, sneering and punching her way through the deliriously explosive electro-pop of ``Cherry Lips (Go Baby),'' ``I'm Only Happy When it Rains'' and the sneering ``Push It.''
It should be noted that neither Stefani nor Manson made the fashion statement of the evening. That, um, honor went to Young, who was decked out in a pink mini-sundress, knee-high pink argyle socks and sported leopard-print hair.
Rounding out the distaff theme was Brody Armstrong, lead singer of openers punk rockers The Distillers.
 ©2002 Boston Herald. All rights reserved.
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