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Ah... Gwen Stefani! She maybe a sex goddess and fashion icon, but first of all she's a rock chick. Brought up on ska and reggae she now fronts one of the most versatile bands on the planet. No Doubt have complete disregard for pigeonholes and order, and instead are a mish-mash of rock, ska, reggae, punk and purveyors of that albatross ballad - Don't Speak - which rocketed up the charts and remains the defining moment of the band.
This DVD is primarily a live show from one of the stadium gigs they did on Long Beach. British fans of the band may be surprised just how big this band are in America. They are very big. Big enough to be given the keys to the city of Anaheim, as is documented on some of the extras that this DVD has to offer, extras I will come to shortly. First back to the gig.
The concert starts off with the band coming from underneath the stage and going into Hella Good, which is (sorry) hella good. The drummer with his multi-coloured drum kit is perched at the end of a platform that juts 50 feet into the crowd. It is about two metres across and is used by all members of the band, a stage device I can't believe more bands do not use.
The cameras are superb and as a result so are the pictures and the sound. They capture Gwen Stefani at her gorgeous hyperactive best as the band go through all of their well known songs: Just A Girl, Hey Baby, Ex-Girlfriend, Spidewebs, Don't Speak as well as some early ska-sounding tracks which do hold their own in a Madness kind of a way.
The DVD captures the concert in all its fast and furious glory and is a must for any No Doubt fan out there. What makes this DVD even better is the amount of extras that it contains. You have long and individual band interviews which are surprisingly enlightening given the hollowness of the ones offered on so many DVDs. You also get backstage footage before and after the concert, shots inside the band member's own homes and their journeys to the filmed concert.
All in all this is a very desirable package. The concert is good and all the songs that you would expect are included. The extras go beyond the call of duty and offer a genuine insight into how this band ticks, both individually and as a unit. One for Christmas? No Doubt.
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