Yay,No Doubt is much-deservingly #3 on Los Angeles Magazine’s list of the 10 Best Gigs of 2012 for their sold-out Gibson residency.
Of all the reasons to love Los Angeles, like life-changing tacos, one of the most impressive is the quality of live music here. 2012 was an outstanding year that saw iconic artists like McCartney, Springsteen and the Stones surge to new heights and breakout acts like Frank Ocean, Alt-J, and Haim dazzle us with heaps of charm and promise. Then there were those summer months when “Call Me Maybe” relentlessly blared from every radio, iPod, and in-store sound system. Los Angeles was privy to it all from the dusky warmth of the Hotel Café to the open-air grandeur of the Hollywood Bowl. Here’s our highly subjective picks for the best live gigs of 2012, listed chronologically to avoid ranking a mix of artists that mixes rock legends with emerging performers.
3. No Doubt at the Gibson Amphitheatre (Nov. 24)
The Gibson was plaid and checkered as No Doubt returned for a seven-night stand in support of Push and Shove, their first album in 11 years. Gwen Stefani, Tom Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Adrian Young may spend just as much time picking their kids up from soccer as they do making music these days, but their energy is still as boundless as it was in 1999. Incidentally, that’s also the year Stefani stopped aging. Shaking the first show jitters a few songs into the gig, No Doubt gave longtime fans tracks like “Total Hate” and younger fans pop hits like “Hella Good.” It was when they cut loose on tracks like “Sunday Morning” and “Just A Girl” that they shone brightest. It didn’t really matter what they did, though, because that crowd was thrilled to have them back.