No Doubt and the Faint Conjure Up the ‘80s

Aieeee! Like some persistent teenage pustule, the ‘80s oozed all over No Doubt’s sold-out show Wednesday at Universal Amphitheatre. Not just because the Orange County band took the new-wave flavor of its latest album, “Rock Steady,” to the stage with gleeful abandon, but also thanks to opening act the Faint and its icy, gothic synth-rock.

No Doubt’s cribbing from Reagan-era rock was less campy, but then new wave has always been in the quartet’s mix, along with dancehall reggae and punk-pop. The stage dressing incorporated the graffiti-style white, red and black lettering from the “Rock Steady” album cover and a bold color scheme that included neon-bright lights in the drum kit. Singer Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young sported gaudy, ‘80s-boho fashion, as did two keyboardists-vocalists who also played horns.

Still, the 90-minute performance was not always well served by this backward inspiration. Essentially a dance band, No Doubt is elastic enough to adapt to trends (or whims), as is Stefani herself, having sung on recent hits by artists as disparate as Eve and Moby. The “Rock Steady” track “Hella Good” got the show off to a thumping good start, but such synth-fueled new numbers as “In My Head” were even less compelling than on the album.

Even the band’s cleverer, more modern-sounding hit “Hey Baby,” for which Dumont busted out a vintage keyboard guitar, fell relatively flat.

The band rarely slowed to less than mid-tempo. But Stefani, evoking Madonna with her high, platinum ponytail and cat-eye makeup, offered tender moments with the wistfully conventional “Simple Kind of Life” and the reggae-fied valentine “Underneath It All.” These reminded us that her appeal lies not only in her girl-just-wants-to-have-fun freakiness, but also in her girl-next-door normality.

The breakneck pace left plenty of room to plumb the catalog, and the mixed crowd of teens to thirtysomethings happily accepted such favorites as “Just a Girl,” “Sunday Morning” and “Ex-Girlfriend.” They also cheered the half-dozen dancing girls who came out in bustiers and fishnet. Which would’ve seemed quite “Moulin Rouge” if it hadn’t been so Cyndi Lauper.

The Faint’s 40-minute opening set was a hilarious, unholy blend of Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, and Spinal Tap, except the black-clad Omaha quintet appeared to be serious, despite the keyboardist’s absurdly warped geek-dancing and the players’ exaggerated high-energy antics.

The Faint started out as a regular indie-rock group, but forays into dancier territory on 1999’s “Blank-Wave Arcade” and last year’s “Danse Macabre” have garnered attention and major-label courtship.

At times vaguely glam rock, the selections often dealt with dire subjects, but that didn’t keep the group from winning over at least part of the crowd. Luring disco dollies to a life of vice, indeed.