LONDON, Ont. -- The summer concert season is just beginning, but here's a prediction. Last night's Gwen Stefani show won't be topped.
The blond, blond, blond U.S. superstar brought her tour supporting The Sweet Escape to the John Labatt Centre for a show of hits, spectacle and wildly happy fans.
Stefani hit the stage to screams from a crowd of 9,200 fans -- a crowd dominated by young females -- with the title track from the tour's album.
An hour later, she and some of her band were up in the crowd at the back of the arena.
In a gorgeous, midriff baring outfit and surrounded by members of the Stefani nation who probably never expected to be this close to their goddess, the dance pop queen hit a pinnacle.
Actually, with the encores still to come, everything was pretty Gwen-mazing last night.
"All the best shows are the Canadian shows," she said of the pandemonium provoked by her runabout. It might be true.
She had started with a hot outfit and a huge hit. Stefani emerged from a faux gold jail cell to sing The Sweet Escape with U.S. singer Akon whose set had finished 30 minutes earlier.
During the duet, Stefani put her arm around his shoulders briefly, a statement of solidarity maybe for Akon, who has plenty of off-tour troubles.
Then, it was down to the Stefani business with dazzling production numbers built around Stefani and her dance team, including the Harajuku Girls.
Keeping it all moving was a fine band driving hot tunes from The Sweet Escape (Universal) album including 4 in the Morning, Wind it Up, Don't Get it Twisted and Now That You Got It. For an earlier helping of solo Stefani, there was Hollaback Girl with the singer and her H-Girls pumping it out for fans who never sat down.
There were startling costume changes, worthy of a fashionista with her own clothing line. The black-and-white stripes -- jail time, get it? -- and long black gloves for The Sweet Escape were soon replaced by an apron and chef's hat outfit for Yummy. Oh, now I get that, too.
Later there were sequined red shorts, a preppy jacket with lots of Stefani's "G" Greek-key styled logo for trim.
This critic's favourite Stefani fashion was the mini-dress worn with a huge bow in the back, which didn't keep Stefani's legs from showing off on the well-used video screens.
Matching the high-fashion look and ultra-catchy hits was Stefani's fresh way with stage talk. "I've always wondered about this place," the star said early in her set. "I was Curious George about you."
Stefani also has a mild fixation with The Sound of Music -- the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical about the von Trapp family who successfully sing their way out of Nazi-run Austria in the late 1930s.
Sampled on The Sweet Escape and in concert is Music's The Lonely Goatheard, a sound Stefani knew long before her 1990s days fronting SoCal ska-pop punkers No Doubt and her solo stardom. Her mother once dressed her like Maria von Trapp -- the tweedy von Trapp -- back in the day.
Now, she has fans who adore her and admire the way she juggles her job as a musician with fashion and movie work and most significantly as a cool and devoted new mom. She and her husband, Brit rocker Gavin Rossdale, had a son in 2006.
Stefani brought up two of her youngest fans and their big sign at the end for a final bow.
Earlier her older fans had been screaming for Akon, who was second on the bill. Akon didn't keep his past a secret. With the shackled-forearms logo for his hit album Konvicted (Universal) everywhere on and above the stage, Akon and his crew didn't back away from his troubles. "Everybody knows Akon has a . . . criminal record," said the Senegal-born, Atlanta-based performer's DJ.
True. He was in the big house some time ago. More likely to make one question Akon's convictions are his recent problems about misconduct -- miskonduct in Akon-speak? -- on stages off the tour.
During an April concert in Trinidad, Akon was videotaped simulating sex with a 14- or 15-year-old girl invited onstage as part of his act. That incident prompted Verizon to withdraw its sponsorship of Akon's tour with Stefani. (The star has kept him on the tour and in her opening number.) Akon said in a statement at the time he was sorry for the incident, but added he did not know the girl was underage.
The best question of the night came from Akon's sidekick DJ, who seemed startled to find fans wedged in at the side of the stage. They seemed happy to hear from him. Why are you back in there, he wondered out loud, having just noticed them.
Good question. That must be how promoters fit the last fans in when there are 9,200 in the house.
Opening the show was British MC Lady Sovereign, who included a great cover the Sex Pistols' Pretty Vacant.
The Sovereign ruler is truly a mighty mouth, working up to the mic to burp, swearing when she can't and offering to put the Gwen-fans out of their misery because she only has one more number to do.
Now we know where Johnny Rotten has been all these years.
