Gwen Stefani's ear and eye candy
By Larry Rodgers
The Arizona Republic
The summer concert season is very young, but Phoenix may already have witnessed the tour that is packed with the most pure pop fun.
Gwen Stefani brought her Harajuku Girls dancers, a dialed-in band, her upbeat persona and enough costumes to make Cher jealous to Cricket Pavilion on Saturday night.
Despite iffy weather earlier in the day, Cricket was filled to capacity -- 20,000 fans. It's rare for the sprawling venue to have absolutely every seat and space on the lawn filled.
"Is this what 20,000 people looks like?" Stefani screamed after opening with the title track from her latest album, "The Sweet Escape."
She received a roar in reply, and the roars continued throughout her 90-minute set, which went nearly til midnight -- late for a show at Cricket, where sound bleeding into nearby neighborhoods can be a concern late at night.
No one was complaining inside Cricket as Stefani, her white-blond hair pulled back in a stylish ponytail, performed much of "The Sweet Escape," as well as some faves from her solo debut, 2004's "Love, Angel, Music, Baby."
After opener Akon played up the title of his latest CD, "Konvicted," with a large image of chained hands, Stefani continued that theme in her entrance, which was grand, as anticipated.
The huge platform holding her band parted and a large cage slid to center stage, with Stefani emerging in the kind of jail outfit only she could envision: a glittering black-and-silver-striped blouse and short-shorts showing off the longest legs in pop music (now that Tina Turner is pretty much retired).
For the second song, 2004's "Rich Girl," Stefani donned a glittering black cape, as her four Harajuku Girls and their male counterparts threw bags of money around.
Stefani, whose L.A.M.B. fashion line generates millions in sales per year, changed or modified her costume about 15 times during the evening.
She wore a mini-chef's hat and a mini-apron for "Yummy," a short dress with Japanese-style padding on the back for "Luxurious," a checkered skirt for "Wind It Up" and a workout-style outfit for "Now That You Got It" that showed off a midriff offering no clue that Stefani is a 37-year-old mommy. (She said her son, Kingston, was asleep out back in the tour bus.)
Stefani moved through all the songs with the precision, energy and professionalism reminiscent of a certain Material Girl who blazed the trail for hot female singer-dancers a few decades ago.
She yodeled and spun her way through "Wind It Up," got emotional on the bittersweet "Early Winter" and, along with her band, built "Orange County Girl" to a climax that ended the regular set with a wall of sound.
Stefani ran into the middle of the reserved-seating sections to drive the crowd crazy and perform "Cool" from "L.A.M.B." It unfolded into a fun moment after one of the night's only glitches, a weak wireless-microphone signal early in the song, was remedied.
Stefani's songwriting might not be the deepest in the world ("I'm feelin' yummy head to toe / Ain't got no patience so let's go") but she's a heavyweight when it comes to delivering ear and eye candy for the summer concert season.
Akon, who grew up in West Africa, did a great job of warming the crowd up for Stefani.
His deft rapping weaves in a strong element of melody that makes his hip-hop stand out from the crowd.
He had no trouble coaxing the audience into a loud call-and-response for "Shake Down," from the 2006 "Konvicted" album.
Two other high-profile tracks from that CD, "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You," became singalongs.
With two albums now under his belt, Akon has found quick success, but he's still only getting started.
Young British rapper Lady Sovereign played a short set to start the evening.
The Arizona Republic
The summer concert season is very young, but Phoenix may already have witnessed the tour that is packed with the most pure pop fun.
Gwen Stefani brought her Harajuku Girls dancers, a dialed-in band, her upbeat persona and enough costumes to make Cher jealous to Cricket Pavilion on Saturday night.
Despite iffy weather earlier in the day, Cricket was filled to capacity -- 20,000 fans. It's rare for the sprawling venue to have absolutely every seat and space on the lawn filled.
"Is this what 20,000 people looks like?" Stefani screamed after opening with the title track from her latest album, "The Sweet Escape."
She received a roar in reply, and the roars continued throughout her 90-minute set, which went nearly til midnight -- late for a show at Cricket, where sound bleeding into nearby neighborhoods can be a concern late at night.
No one was complaining inside Cricket as Stefani, her white-blond hair pulled back in a stylish ponytail, performed much of "The Sweet Escape," as well as some faves from her solo debut, 2004's "Love, Angel, Music, Baby."
After opener Akon played up the title of his latest CD, "Konvicted," with a large image of chained hands, Stefani continued that theme in her entrance, which was grand, as anticipated.
The huge platform holding her band parted and a large cage slid to center stage, with Stefani emerging in the kind of jail outfit only she could envision: a glittering black-and-silver-striped blouse and short-shorts showing off the longest legs in pop music (now that Tina Turner is pretty much retired).
For the second song, 2004's "Rich Girl," Stefani donned a glittering black cape, as her four Harajuku Girls and their male counterparts threw bags of money around.
Stefani, whose L.A.M.B. fashion line generates millions in sales per year, changed or modified her costume about 15 times during the evening.
She wore a mini-chef's hat and a mini-apron for "Yummy," a short dress with Japanese-style padding on the back for "Luxurious," a checkered skirt for "Wind It Up" and a workout-style outfit for "Now That You Got It" that showed off a midriff offering no clue that Stefani is a 37-year-old mommy. (She said her son, Kingston, was asleep out back in the tour bus.)
Stefani moved through all the songs with the precision, energy and professionalism reminiscent of a certain Material Girl who blazed the trail for hot female singer-dancers a few decades ago.
She yodeled and spun her way through "Wind It Up," got emotional on the bittersweet "Early Winter" and, along with her band, built "Orange County Girl" to a climax that ended the regular set with a wall of sound.
Stefani ran into the middle of the reserved-seating sections to drive the crowd crazy and perform "Cool" from "L.A.M.B." It unfolded into a fun moment after one of the night's only glitches, a weak wireless-microphone signal early in the song, was remedied.
Stefani's songwriting might not be the deepest in the world ("I'm feelin' yummy head to toe / Ain't got no patience so let's go") but she's a heavyweight when it comes to delivering ear and eye candy for the summer concert season.
Akon, who grew up in West Africa, did a great job of warming the crowd up for Stefani.
His deft rapping weaves in a strong element of melody that makes his hip-hop stand out from the crowd.
He had no trouble coaxing the audience into a loud call-and-response for "Shake Down," from the 2006 "Konvicted" album.
Two other high-profile tracks from that CD, "Smack That" and "I Wanna Love You," became singalongs.
With two albums now under his belt, Akon has found quick success, but he's still only getting started.
Young British rapper Lady Sovereign played a short set to start the evening.
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