No Doubt, Stefani Leave Fans in High Spirits

With the life cycle of bands shrinking with each passing year, it’s perhaps wise of Orange County’s darlings No Doubt to hit the boards for a few live pit stops before their new album comes out early next year. The band’s performance at the House of Blues on Wednesday wrapped up the brief Southern California swing with a 90-minute sugar rush that reminded just how endearing its percolating pop-ska can be.

Although the show was ostensibly a showcase for material that will appear on the new album, this was really a tidy run-through of radio staples from the band’s 6 million-selling 1995 album, “Tragic Kingdom.” And why not? Songs such as “Spiderweb,” “Sunday Morning” and “Just a Girl” are gleeful anthems of teenage heartbreak and self-determination that reside in the gap where ‘80s new wave pop intersects with ska-punk.

Fetching frontwoman Gwen Stefani is the engine that drives the band, and the singer radiated turbo girl power. With her cotton-candy pink hair and matching halter top, Stefani was like a sexy cartoon character brought to life through the magic of chunky reggae riffs. She projected a coy, self-possessed sensuality that was steamy enough for the boys and knowing enough for the girls to identify with. Singing in her best Betty Boop squeak, Stefani had the crowd pumped and pogoing.