Well Worth the Wait

I've been making my way through some TV-on-DVD sets this past week—"Daria," "Undeclared" and, currently, "Parker Lewis Can't Lose." The kind of marathon viewing DVDs make possible sparks nostalgia, taking me back to who I was and what the world was when I first watched these shows (The house shirts! The combat boots! The answering machines!).

Going through episode after episode, I also started missing the old way we watched TV, having to wait a week or longer between episodes, the tension building over how cliffhangers would be resolved, our relationships with characters deepening as we spent months or years with them. Now being able to watch an entire season in one day, that payoff is gone.

Because I watched these three series (and the others I own on DVD), live on TV the first time around, I remember the waiting, the wondering, so major plot developments, like Lizzie and Steven getting together on "Undeclared," are less jarring because I remember it taking a few weeks to build as opposed to just a few minutes.

With Netflix releasing every episode of the new season of "Arrested Development" in one chunk for fans to devour in one sitting or savor over the course of several days, as opposed to being parsed out over several weeks or months in a traditional TV schedule, I wonder if our viewing experience is being diminished. I do enjoy marathon viewing of shows I've already seen but am not sure if I could develop the same intense appreciation for a show I've only seen on DVD as I have for the shows like "Daria," "Gilmore Girls" and "Parks & Recreation" because I invested months of viewing in each.

I used to get so impatient waiting through a six-week hiatus for my favorite shows, anxious to know how the conflicts would resolve. Even when having to wade through the frustrations of pre-empting and schedule swaps, the payoff of a brand-new episode usually made it worth the while. If the waiting is erased and time invested lessened, will our relationships with our favorite shows and characters weaken? Will we even have favorite shows anymore? Or will all shows, episodes, characters, plots and settings be mashed together as more bits of the endless stream of content flowing at us?

'Now a Major Motion Picture!'

I don't remember what movie I went to see, but last fall I saw the trailer for "Anna Karenina." It was stunning, the clothes, the sets of the play-within-the-film, the romance, the tragedy. I had to see it.

I missed the movie in theaters, finally catching it a few months ago on-demand after excitedly reading the book, which I enjoyed far more than I thought I would. My affection for the book matched with the impression left by the movie's trailer, I was prepared to be blown away.

I wasn't.

"Anna Karenina" is a big book with a half-dozen main characters leading paralleling and intersecting story lines. A two-hour-and-10-minute movie couldn't do the book justice. Too much had to be left out, left unsaid, implied or overly expositioned. Like most film adaptations, "Anna Karenina" was a mess and a disappointment.

I've read many hundreds of books in my life. Reading is one of my favorite activities and this year, thanks to the extra time I now have on my hands, I've indulged. I've read memoirs, classics (including the aforementioned "Anna Karenina"), essay collections, fiction, nonfiction. I've bought stacks of books, borrowed a few, made lists of what I want to read next. It's been a fantastic excursion.

Though I read it in high school (like so many of us), I used the release of the new film adaptation, and the recent reading of Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast," with its somewhat cutting descriptions of the man and his muse, as excuses to re-read Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." It's a really short book, less than 200 pages, so I read it in about two days with the hope of doing something I haven't done in ages—seeing the movie on opening day.

The new Baz Luhrmann adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" has built an insane amount of buzz and garnered really terrible reviews. I've followed some of the buzz (The Clothes! The Jewels! Leo! Carey!) and taken the reviews with a grain of salt. I like Lurhmann's films, his style, the work of his production designer/costume designer/production partner/wife Catherine Martin, and felt like I knew what I was in for and would enjoy the experience regardless.

I wanted to, I really did. I just couldn't.

The problem isn't the direction, the acting, the costumes, the sets, the music, the 3-D, the various tricks and bells and whistles. The problem is this is a film adaptation of a much-loved, much-analyzed, must-scrutinized book; a book that's existed in the hearts and minds of millions of readers for nearly 100 years; a book that, like most books, shouldn't be a movie.

Leaving the movie theater, I tried to think of good adaptations. The "Harry Potter" series came to mind, but even those compressed too much, left out too much, quickly explained away too much. "The Joy Luck Club" may be the best but maybe that's because Amy Tan's writing style feels so verbal that it was just easier to transfer it from the page to the screen.

Film adaptations of my beloved Hemingway's classics have been terrible. The voiceover opening to "The Sun Also Rises" made me laugh out loud. Casting in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "The Old Man and the Sea" was horrid. So many great characters, so much beautiful language, the tension, the struggles, all completely flat on the screen.

It's become so cliché, but Hollywood does have few new ideas, so of course studios are going to keep buying the rights to adapt popular books. As has been proven far too many times in the past, the great majority of those adaptations are going to be terrible. Like Gatsby building his fortune to win Daisy's love, the studios will forge ahead with their adaptations, even if it's a lost cause.

'I Guess I Just Like Liking Things'

There was a new episode of "Community" tonight. After months of waiting, of dropped bombs and delayed debuts, it feels fantastic knowing that brand-new Greendale 7 adventures exist.

Being a (sometimes-obsessive) fan of a beautiful array of television shows and bands, I've come to realize that many people just don't understand the joy brought by the promise of a new television episode or album. They don't quote lines or memorize facts or run their own scenarios. They just watch or listen and then move on.

Luckily, diehard fans have always found ways to gather and share their obsessions. The internet has made this so easy, just a few keystrokes and you can find a discussion thread or entire forum dedicated to pretty much any piece of pop culture ever generated. The wonders of technology!

What's been exciting for me is when those discussions move offline, when fans get the opportunity to gather in the real world to celebrate their shared love. That happened this past weekend at CommuniCon, a celebration of the television show by fans and for fans.

The event was held at LA City College, which was used for many exterior shots during "Community's" first season. It featured a writers' panel, supporting actors' panel ("No Small Parts"), Q&A with show creator Dan Harmon ("Dan Harmon and a Microphone"), costume contest, art show and fan testimonials.

I volunteered at the event, working the registration table as participants in the "No Small Parts" panel were arriving. "Black Hitler" (actor Brisco Diggs) was joking around with everyone. The elevator opened and there was Vicki (actress Danielle Kaplowitz). Up the stairs came Quendra with a Qu (actress Marcy McCusker). Next came Garrett (actor Erik Charles Nielsen), followed soon by Neil (actor Charley Koontz) and Todd (actor David Neher, who's also fantastic as Benjamin on "New Girl"). They were swarmed, people screamed when they saw the actors, got pictures and autographs.

Dan Harmon got a standing ovation when he arrived and was visibly moved. Yvette Nicole Brown and Gillian Jacobs made surprise appearances, causing even more excitement. Throughout the day, with each new story, bit of trivia and guest appearance, the love for the show, from its fans and creators, grew.

I didn't get any autographs or a picture with any of the panelists, but I did get my own piece of "Community" to cherish, an Arizona Matchbook Company matchbook that was created for the "Competitive Ecology" episode. I'm a fan of production design, all the work it takes to create the pieces big and small necessary to the worlds my favorite shows and movies exist within, so this was the perfect souvenir.

During his talk, Dan Harmon asked fans to keep holding conventions and promised he'd keep showing up. When the show ends (which could be as soon as this spring), it's good to know the spirit of "Community" will live on. You can read more about the event in this article from The Occidental Weekly.

For more information on CommuiCon, including a link to a video of "Dan Harmon and a Microphone," click here.

More of my pictures from Saturday are below:

'I Hated Sam & Diane'

During last year's PaleyFest panel for "New Girl," the panelists were asked about Jess and Nick's developing relationship. The moderator asked the audience if they'd like to see the two coupled up and the theater erupted in cheers and applause.

I didn't join in the applause. In fact, I think I was the only person in the room whose response to the question was an emphatic "No!" On Tuesday's episode, Nick kissed Jess. The moment had been building over the last few episodes so I knew it was coming. When it happened, though, I cringed a bit.

As I wrote nearly two years ago when Leslie and Ben finally kissed on "Parks & Recreation," I'm generally not a fan of the will-they-or-won't-they storyline. I find it forced and predictable—a woman and man spend any amount of time together so, of course, there has to be this huge build up of feelings.

I choose to believe not. Maybe it's my naïveté, but I don't think that every female/male relationship rides on a current of sexual tension just waiting to swell up and overtake everybody. I think friendships can develop into romantic relationships or stay as friendships, but believe, no matter how common television and movies try to tell us it is, that friends don't continually spiral toward and away from each other, not completely understanding the true depths of their feelings and driving everyone around them absolutely insane.

Despite my problems with this plotline, other fans seem to eat this stuff up, as evidenced both by the number of shows that follow this path (EW.com did a gallery of favorite will-they-or-won't-they couples here) and the super-swoony comments that followed Tuesday's "New Girl." I'd prefer more shows to explore the idea of women and men being friends, mentors/protégés or colleagues, such as has happened on "30 Rock" with Liz and Jack, "Parks & Recreation" with Leslie and Ron, and "The Mindy Project" with Mindy and Danny (please, please, please leave them as friends), but know I'll probably have to suffer through more friends dealing with unexpressed romantic tension on television and in movies.

Blerg.

'Butterfly in the Sky'

I'm in need of a new project, something positive to occupy my time and my mind. I truly enjoyed going back through my CD collection last year so was looking for something in a similar vein. An exchange with a friend flipped the switch—I will read more books.

Reading is one of the greatest things to do in life, yet, at my best, I'm a sporadic avid reader. I feel fulfilled and content and accomplished when one book's ending smoothly flows into another's start but, usually, there are huge gaps in my reading life.

Maybe this year could be the year to end all that.

I'm aiming for one book a week but would be satisfied with two a month. My first book for this project is "Grace: A Memoir," by Grace Coddington, creative director of American Vogue. I'll happily take recommendations for what can follow.

'The Only Baggage You Can Bring'

It took most of the year, but I finally made my way through my CD collection. I've listened to 348 CDs by 138 artists. I relived some of the high and low points of my life by listening to this music. I liked, or even loved, more of the CDs than I thought I would and have no plans to get rid of anything. I do, however, want to buy more, more, more.

I finished off last week with my U2 collection and plan to give those CDs a closer listen, so will likely have more to say about that soon. In the meantime, here's everything that's been filling my ears for the past few months.

The Doors
The Best of the Doors

Guns N Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Lies
The Spaghetti Incident
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II

Motley Crue
Decade of Decadence
Too Fast for Love

The Eagles
Their Greatest Hits
Don Henley: Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits

Henry Rollins
The Boxed Life
Wartime: Fast Food for Thought
Rollins Band: Insert Band Here: Live in Australia 1990
Sweatbox
A Rollins in the Wry
Rollins Band: Yellow Blues
Rollins Band: A Clockwork Orange Stage
Big Ugly Mouth/Short Walk on a Long Pier
Think Tank
Live at the Westbeth Theater
Talk Is Cheap Volume 1
Talk Is Cheap Volume 2
Talk Is Cheap Volume 3
Talk Is Cheap Volume 4
Spoken Word Guy 2
Spoken Word Guy
Nights Behind the Tree Line

Tina Turner
Tina Live in Europe Disc 1
Tina Live in Europe Disc 2
Simply the Best

Stray Cats
Best of the Stray Cats-Rock This Town
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Brian Setzer Live
Brian Setzer Orchestra: Guitar Slinger
Brian Setzer Orchestra: The Dirty Boogie
Brian Setzer: Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records

NKOTB
Face the Music

The Black Crowes
Three Snakes and One Charm
By Your Side
Lions
Shake Your Money Maker
The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Live Circus '95
Croweology

INXS
Elegantly Wasted
Live Baby Live
Shabooh Shoobah
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
The Greatest Hits
The Swing
INXS
Kick
X
Welcome to Wherever You Are
Listen Like Thieves
Beneath the Colours
Shine Like It Does

Ashley MacIsaac
Hi How Are You Today?

Original Soundtrack
Dazed and Confused

En Vogue
Funky Divas

Poison
Poison's Greatest Hits

Live
Throwing Copper

Patty Smyth
Patty Smyth

The Rolling Stones
Bridges to Babylon
Hot Rocks

Kevin & Bean
A Family Christmas in Your Ass
Super Christmas

Original Soundtrack
Grease

Spice Girls
Spice
Spice World
Geri Halliwell: Schizophonic
Goodbye

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
Born to Run
Born in the U.S.A.

Bangles
Greatest Hits

Original Soundtrack
Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Everclear
So Much for the Afterglow

Stevie Nicks
The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space
Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Fleetwood Mac: Greatest Hits
Trouble in Shangri-La
Fleetwood Mac: The Dance
The Enchanted Works of Stevie Nicks

Depeche Mode
The Singles 86-98
The Singles 81-85
Dave Gahan: Hourglass

The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Greatest Hits

Alanis Morissette
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Unplugged
Under Rug Swept
Jagged Little Pill
So-Called Chaos
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic
The Collection
Flavors of Entanglement
Havoc and Bright Lights

Mariah Carey
#1s

Culture Club
VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments

Lauryn Hill
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Heart Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits 1985-1995

The Allman Brothers Band
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979

Etta James
The Best of Etta James: The Millennium Collection

Hole
Celebrity Skin
Courtney Love: America's Sweetheart

Abba
Gold: Greatest Hits

Carole King
Tapestry
Love Makes the World
The Living Room Tour

Taylor Dayne
Tell It to My Heart
Can't Fight Fate

Sinead O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Sean-Nos Nua

Tracey Chapman
Telling Stories

George Michael
Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1
Faith

Aretha Franklin
The Very Best of Aretha Franklin: The '60s

The Beatles
Abbey Road
1
Original Soundtrack: I Am Sam
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Let It Be
John Lennon: The John Lennon Collection
Revolver
Rubber Soul
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles (The White Album)
Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur
Magical Mystery Tour
Past Masters

Various Artists
100% Dance

Janet Jackson
Design of a Decade: 1986/1996

Destiny's Child
Survivor

Bobby Darin
The Ultimate Bobby Darin

Cyndi Lauper
She's So Unusual

Nirvana
Unplugged in New York
Foo Fighters: Skin and Bones

The Pretenders
The Singles

No Doubt
Rock Steady
Tragic Kingdom
Return of Saturn
The Singles 1992-2003
Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby
Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape
Push & Shove

Jewel
This Way

Social Distortion
Live at The Roxy

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Deja Vu

Kylie Minogue
Fever
Body Language
The Best of Kylie Minogue

Blondie
Greatest Hits

Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American)

The Proclaimers
The Best Of …

Janis Joplin
18 Essential Songs

The Ramones
All the Stuff (And More) Volume Two

The Clash
The Singles

Nelly Furtado
Whoa, Nelly!

Billy Idol
Greatest Hits

The Cars
Complete Greatest Hits

The Osbournes
The Osbourne Family Album

Green Day
International Superhits!
Insomniac
American Idiot
21st Century Breakdown
Uno!
Dos!
Tre!

Weezer
Weezer (The Green Album)
Weezer (The Blue Album)
Maladriot
Pinkerton
Make Believe
Raditude
Weezer (The Red Album)

R.E.M.
In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003
And I Feel Fine … R.E.M. The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987

The Cranberries
Everybody Else Is Doing It so Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993)
No Need to Argue (The Complete Sessions 1994-1995)

Van Morrison
Astral Weeks
Tupelo Honey
Moondance

Van Halen
Van Halen
The Best of Both Worlds

Original Soundtrack
Clueless

X
Los Angeles/Wild Gift

Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain

Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
Feels Like Home

The Vines
Highly Evolved
Winning Days

The Corrs
Live in Dublin
In Blue
Borrowed Heaven
Talk on Corners (Special Edition)
Forgiven, Not Forgotten
Home

John Mayer
Room for Squares
Heavier Things
Any Given Thursday
Inside Wants Out
John Mayer Trio: Try!
Continuum
Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles
The Village Sessions
Battle Studies
Born & Raised

Ryan Adams
Gold

Linda Rondstadt
The Very Best of Linda Rondstadt

BBMAK
Sooner or Later

Ashlee Simpson
Autobiography
I Am Me
Bittersweet World

Robbie Williams
The Ego Has Landed
Escapology

Daniel Lanois
Shine

P!nk
M!ssundaztood

Television
Marquee Moon

Simon & Garfunkel
The Best of Simon & Garfunkel

Sheryl Crow
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow

Neil McCormick
The Ghost Who Walks

The Pogues
The Very Best Of …

Pearl Jam
Ten

Lionel Hampton
Golden Vibes/Silver Vibes

Various Artists
Metal Mania -- Stripped

Natasha Bedingfield
Unwritten

Damien Rice
9
O

Original Soundtrack
Saturday Night Fever

The Dave Brubeck Quartet
Time Out

KT Tunstall
Eye to the Telescope

Corinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae

The Partridge Family
The Very Best of The Partridge Family

Pat Benatar
Greatest Hits

James Blunt
Back to Bedlam
All the Lost Souls

Dusty Springfield
Dusty in Memphis

Squeeze
Singles

Donovan
The Essential Donovan

Nina Simone
Nina Simone's Finest Hour

Billie Holiday
Billie's Best

Blink-182
Greatest Hits

Madness
Ultimate Collection

Kaiser Chiefs
Employment
Yours Truly, Angry Mob

Aerosmith
Young Lust

Bob Marley
Legend

Original Soundtrack
Once

Fall Out Boy
Infinity on High
From Under the Cork Tree
Take This to Your Grave
Evening Out With Your Girlfriend
My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side of My Tongue
**** Live in Phoenix
Folie a Deux
Believers Never Die

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Why Do Birds Sing?

Amy Winehouse
Back to Black
Frank
Lioness: Hidden Treasures

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
She's the One

The Kinks
The Story of The Kinks

Adam Ant
The Essential Adam Ant

A New Found Glory
From the Screen to Your Stereo
From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II

Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo

Fergie
The Dutchess
Black Eyed Peas: The E-N-D

Original Soundtrack
Dirty Dancing: The Collector's Edition

The Ruse
Midnight in the City

Michael Jackson
The Essential Michael Jackson

Robert Plant & Alison Kraus
Raising Sand

Bryan Greenberg
Waiting for Now
We Don't Have Forever

Glee
The Christmas Album

Bloc Party
Various

Young the Giant
Young the Giant

She & Him
A Very She & Him Christmas

Adele
19
21

Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello With Burt Bacharach: Painted From Memory
The Very Best of Elvis Costello
My Aim Is True (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: All This Useless Beauty (Rhino reissue)
Spike (Rhino reissue)
When I Was Cruel
This Years Model (Rhino reissue)
North
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Armed Forces (Rhino reissue)
Elvis Costelo and The Attractions: Trust (Rhion reissue)
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Get Happy
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: National Ransom
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Punch the Clock (Rhion reissue)
Original Soundtrack: De-Lovely
Elvis Costello & The Imposters: The Delivery Man
Elvis Costello Live With the Metropole Orkest: My Flame Burns Blue
Elvis Costello and The Attractions: Imperial Bedroom
Elvis Costello & Allen Toussant: The River in Reverse
Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Madonna
Erotica
The Immaculate Collection
Original Soundtrack: Evita
Ray of Light
Something to Remember
True Blue
Like a Prayer
Bedtime Stories
Madonna
Live a Virgin
Music
You Can Dance
I'm Breathless
GHV2
Original Soundtrack: Who's That Girl
American Life
Remixed & Revisited
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
Confessions on a Dance Floor
The Confessions Tour
Original Soundtrack: Vision Quest
Hard Candy
Sticky & Sweet Tour
Celebration
Glee: The Power of Madonna
MDNA (clean and deluxe versions)

U2
The Best of 1980-1990 & The B-Sides
Rattle and Hum
All That You Can't Leave Behind
Achtung Baby (Original and Super Deluxe Edition reissue)
The Joshua Tree (Original and 20th Anniversary reissue)
Zooropa
War (Original and Reissue)
October (Original and Reissue)
The Unforgettable Fire (Original and 25th Anniversary reissue)
Boy (Original and Reissue)
7
Pop
Wide Awake in America
Under a Blood Red Sky (Original and Reissue)
Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1
The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides
Original Soundtrack: Moulin Rouge
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 18: Singles
No Line on the Horizon (original and deluxe)
Original Soundtrack: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Various: Every Mother Counts

No Doubt & The Power of Pop Music

My Blackberry captures No Doubt performing "One More Summer" on Saturday night.

Quite often during live performances, I get all misty and choked up. I don't usually cry but my emotions do regularly swell. Marc Maron talked about this on an episode of "WTF" (I think it might have been the Adam Scott interview), saying he gets choked up at live performances because of how vulnerable the performers are.

I don't know why I find myself on the verge of tears at concerts, plays and the like, I think it might be a recognition of the talent and hard work that have gotten those performers on that stage. When No Doubt hit the Gibson Amphitheatre stage Saturday night, I think it was that sense of homecoming, the triumphant return of the conquering heroes, that blurred my vision.

For someone growing up in Southern California, No Doubt has an incredible story. A group of music-loving high school kids gets together to form a band, works and scrapes and struggles for nearly a decade, then, boom, becomes the biggest thing on the planet. So many people in these parts have personal stories about the band, went to school with them, worked with their parents or, like the guy who talked to my brother and I before the show, grew up on Beacon St. across from the famous house where the band got its start.

Those stories add to the experience, but the power of No Doubt, the reason the band became as big as it did, the reason we all waited 10 years for "Push & Shove," its latest release, is the music. No Doubt makes catchy, fun, energetic, genre-bending, goofy, beautiful, personal, meaningful pop songs and is damn good at it.

Early on in Saturday's show, I took in the capacity crowd, seemingly every audience member on their feet, arms in the air, signing along with everything they had. I saw a wide range of people, 40-somethings who came up with the band, people my age and a little younger who were in school when the band broke, and kids as young as six who've grown up on No Doubt, feeling for the band and its music probably the way I feel for The Beatles and its music, like these people are family and their music is essential to your chemical makeup.

Each song the band played has a story for me, for the more than 6,000 other people at the show with me. I thought about Gwen riding a toppling amp down the ramp when No Doubt opened for U2 in 2001 and debuted "Rock Steady" tracks. I thought about the times I crazily sped down the freeway blasting "Just a Girl." I thought about mending my aching heart to "New" and "Ex-Girlfriend." I thought about the first time I cried listening to "Simple Kind of Life," its words at last ringing true.

"Pop Music" is a massive term, holding within it everything from The Beatles to Justin Bieber. Some pop music is horrifying (I'll let you insert your own examples here) but so much more of it is comforting, inspiring, invigorating and just plain great. The best of pop music can unify strangers, stop fights, cement memories, inspire grand gestures, accompany journeys and get you through your toughest times.

On Saturday night, No Doubt was the very best of pop music, sparkly and gritty, personal and silly, low-key and thrashing. With each song, the band, that fantastic band, pulled so much out of us and gave back even more. Nights like that are why I go to concerts, why I keep buying music, why I like to write about music and why I'm a music fan.

Here's Saturday night's set list, courtesy of the Orange County Register:
Push and Shove
It's My Life
Hella Good
Underneath It All
Ex-Girlfriend
Hey Baby
New
Hey You!
Sparkle
Simple Kind of Life
One More Summer
Sunday Morning
Happy Now?
Settle Down
Don't Speak
Just a Girl
Looking Hot
Total Hate
Spiderwebs

You can read The Register's review, written by my old boss Ben Wener, here. You can read the Los Angeles Times' review here.

No Doubt is playing a total of seven shows at the Gibson Amphitheatre, the second of which gets underway in a few hours. If you're going to any of the remaining shows, I'm definitely jealous. I'm already picturing an outdoor show sometime next summer, the band taking the stage just after sunset, throwing one of the best parties around.