Sweet Home Wisconsin: Concert Stories #37: No Doubt with Paramore

March 16, 2016

Concert Stories #37: No Doubt with Paramore

No Doubt (3^rd Time)
Opener: Paramore
Marcus Amphitheater
July 2, 2009
Age 26

No Doubt is such a timeless band in my mind. Twelve years after seeing them for the first time, I was back to see my third show from them. My sister is a huge Gwen Stefani/No Doubt fan and is a member of their fan club. As a fan club member she got early access to the tickets and we ended up with 10th row center! No Doubt was not touring for any new album, at the time I believe they toured to help inspire them to write a new songs. As a result the concert was a greatest hits setlist, so pretty much every song was a hit and I was thrilled when my favorite "Bathwater" was played. No Doubt had non-stop energy throughout the show, I could not believe how much jumping the rest of the band did while playing! I also really enjoy Gabrial McNair and Stephen Bradley, who add backing instruments (usually horns). McNair and Bradley really add such depth to No Doubt's sound and are fun to watch. When the show ended both my sister and I were thoroughly exhausted, sweat drenched from dancing, and horse from singing to every song. And to emphasize how much fun this concert was, I learned as a child how to project my voice, so for it to ever get hoarse is beyond rare, that's how much singing and yelling I was doing!

Opening for No Doubt was Paramore which was a perfect match to go with them. I believe at that time all four original members were still in the band (I think they are down to just Haley Williams now?). Paramore was great though. "Decode" from the Twilight soundtrack had just come out the year before and was an amazing song. Another one of my favorites is "Brick By Boring Brick". At one point the bassist Jeremy Davis did an aerial...while still playing the bass!

Paramore would join No Doubt at the end of the night to sing along with one of No Doubt's songs. It was the perfect cap to a great concert!