Concert Review:
Three female-led bands hit Centennial Garden recently and left no doubt in the fans’ minds that women singers know how to rock Bakersfield. No Doubt, Garbage and Distilled performed to a sold out audience of fans.
When the lights went dim and No Doubt was getting ready to come out, the crowd rushed to the stage. The band rose from the floor on a catwalk about 35 feet in front of the stage and started the show by playing “Hella Good” from their latest album. Gwen Stefani was dressed in camouflage pants, a blue and white tank top, and jean jacket and she looked hot as ever.
During the first few songs the drums stayed at the front of the catwalk then they were relocated to the stage so Stefani would have the complete use of the catwalk and be able to stay close to the crowd. Through the entire show Stefani stayed highly energetic while singing, moving from one side of the stage and dancing her way to the other. The only time the band slowed down was to perform an unplugged version of “In My Head.”
At the end of the show Stefani high-fived fans who were crowded against the stage while drummer, Adrian Young, passed out drum sticks. Young handed one stick to a young lady that was so excited to be at the concert she was in tears.
The band that warmed up the crowd for No Doubt was Garbage. During the set singer Shirley Manson proclaimed, “I’m dreadfully hungover,” before she started singing the track off their new album, “Shut Your Mouth.” Toward the end of their session, they got the crowd jumping up and down and warmed up for the headliner.
Distilled was the first band to hit the stage for a 30-minute set of head-banging punk rock style music. Many people in the audience wasn’t prepared for the hard-core band and spent most of the first half-hour of the show plugging their ears. This band would have been a great addition to the Korn show a couple of weeks ago but didn’t go over too well with the mostly teenage audience that came to see the more mellow bands that followed.