Last night I joined over 23,000 or so other people and made the trek out to Bristow to see No Doubt at Nissan Pavilion. Gwen Stefani and the Boys are back out on tour for the first time in five years, and judging from the crowds they’ve been bringing in, people really missed them. I can’t say I was ever a fan of the band, but I certainly was impressed with their show last night (and Stefani’s abs. As flat as you may think her stomach is, it’s flatter in person). I’m sure it was everything a No Doubt fan could ask for. Since they have no new material to promote (save for a newly recorded Adam & the Ants cover of “Stand & Deliver) the band focused on their hits and threw in a few other covers for good measure. “Hella Good,” the second song in the set, was particularly impressive, leaning more on Tony Kanal’s slinky bassline than the recorded version.

The band’s stage set was very sparse, with only a drum riser at the back and some ramps leading up to it where the backing musicians were stationed. The entire band was dressed in white, giving everything a very retro-futuristic, Clockwork Orange vibe. The lack of stage dressing left the band plenty of room to move around, with Stefani in constant motion, covering every inch of the stage. She and Kanal did a lot of interacting, while guitarist Tom Dumont seemed content to just wander back to the drum rise every once in a while.

Openers The Sounds and Paramore were tailor made for the bill. Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams is obviously a big Gwen Stefani fan, having stolen her look and many of her stage moves. Her band’s popular brand of hookless, teen-friendly emo didn’t do much for me, but The Sounds electro-pop had the early crowd dancing up a storm. Lead singer Maja Ivarsson completed the night’s girl power triumvirate, parading around the stage in heels and hotpants.