No Doubt, we know them well at The Joint

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009 | 7:31 p.m.

Two moments at the Hard Rock Hotel last night effectively tracked the history of No Doubt in Las Vegas. Both unfolded before even a note was played at The Joint.

As I entered the music hall, I ran into an old friend, Tony Cordasco. For those of you who do not know the movers-slash-shakers in VegasVille, Cordasco is an executive for Red Bull North America (that’s the energy drink, and a continent on which it is marketed). Before taking that job, Cordasco was for years a member of the UNLV sports radio broadcast team and part of the athletic department’s sports marketing staff. I met him in 1996, when he was working with Ken Korach and the late Glen Gondrezick on UNLV Runnin’ Rebel hoops radio coverage. Because Cordasco was involved with marketing of shows at the T&M, he was aware of ticket sales for even non-sporting events, including concerts. In the spring of 1997, the arena took what seemed a risky booking: the Orange County band No Doubt. The band had played the previous year at The Joint and sold out, but the T&M seats several thousand more than did the old Joint (and the new place, for that matter). It was impossible to know, with any confidence, if this band would be able to play to a crowd in the teens of thousands.

But a week before the show, No Doubt had indeed sold out. The catch phrase around the halls at the T&M was “No Doubt! Sold out!” (Just four years later, in one of the great Vegas shows ever, No Doubt opened for U2 at the T&M.)

Today there’s no doubt (play on words there) of the band’s draw, evident by the way it took the stage last night at The Joint for its 55th show in a 58-city reunion tour.

A white drape was unfurled at the front of the stage, and four silhouetted figures lurched forward, growing with each step. It was striking how recognizable, today, the forms of Tom Dumont, Gwen Stefani, Adrian Young and Tony Kanal have become. There was no question who they were. No doubt, I guess, would be a more fitting way to term that. They filled the 4,000-seat Joint, to the surprise of no one, and matched their style with force. I’ll say it again: When Gwen Stefani hits the deck for 10 push-ups, which she’s been performing at least since that 1997 show, you know it is no ordinary entertainment experience.

More from the show

The way Stefani bobs and weaves around the stage seems familiar, a lot like Muhammad Ali when he was Cassius Clay. She’s firing jabs, circling, shuffling, putting her chin out and pulling it back. She floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee, and I guess playing the role of Sonny Liston is the audience. … Quoting from myself, from the No Doubt show at The (old) Joint in April 2002. “There was a moment during Saturday night's sold-out show by No Doubt at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, as lead vocalist Gwen Stefani gripped the microphone and slalomed her way through “Sunday Morning,” when the 90-minute experience could be summed up in three words: Lucky mic stand.” Whew. No Couth would be my band’s name. … Having seen No Doubt five times now (including a performance at Rain at the Palms), I’ve yet to see Young wear pants onstage, ever. Remember, there is a big difference between wearing only black briefs and fishnet leggings onstage, and wearing only black briefs and fishnet leggings while sitting in the balcony. … It was a heavy-with-singles set: “Spiderwebs,” “Hella Good,” “Underneath It All,” “Simple Kind of Life,” “Hey Baby,” “Running,” “It’s My Life,” “Just a Girl” and (encore!) “Rock Steady” and “Sunday Morning.” … During “Running,” the band has long played a montage of old videos from their formative days in Orange County, and it’s still pretty moving. The crappy gigs at outdoor parties, bowling (or attempting to), crazy zipper-padded ’80s fashions and hair teased five ways to Sunday. It’s really funny, poignant footage. … Midway through the show, the woman sitting next to me pointed out Stefani’s rippling midriff and asked, “How can she have two kids?” Good question. A hoax, maybe? … Stefani turns 40 on Oct. 3. … Her hair pulled atop her head in a tightly ratcheted ponytail, Stefani started the night in a punkish, sleeveless, white half-T-shirt-pants-jacket ensemble adorned with floppy chains and menacing black boots. Her second outfit was her best, though, a black-and-white, sequined top patterned as a chessboard. The queen has all the moves? Is that the message? … The 58-city tour careening to a close, Stefani nostalgically pulled several audience members onstage to pose for photos and hugs. One fan claimed to have seen 21 performances. Offered a T-shirt, he just wanted “a hug.” She obliged. Another follower gave her a tour scrapbook. … The tour closes next weekend in an ideal spot for an extended vacation, the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

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