Gwen Stefani - Sweet Escape Tour - Belgium 2007

After sitting in traffic on the Antwerp ring for close to two hours, fighting our way through the smoking, unruly crowds at the front doors, wandering aimlessly through the Sportpaleis to find the one tiny, hidden sign to lead us to our seats, and sitting through the worst opening act I have ever seen (think Metallica meets the B52s… yeah it was as bad as it sounds), we got to see Gwen. It was worth all of the trouble.

This was the first really high production concert I’ve seen (you know, lots of set and costume changes and a troupe of amazing dancers). It was very well choreographed and Gwen proved that there are still performers who can sing and dance at the same time (take note Britney).

Also, unlike the Norah Jones concert (which I still really enjoyed), Gwen interacted with the audience a lot. She talked a lot about Belgium (and the chocolates), the fact that her birthday had been the day before, and she even brought her baby on stage (She claimed it was for the first time ever).

The most entertaining part however, was when she suddenly ran through the crowd on the floor (followed by a swarm of stressed-out body guards) and leapt up onto the railing separating the floor from the lower-bowl. She walked along the railing (with the help of the aforementioned stressed-out body guards, all while continuing to sing. Even though we were up in the nose-bleeds (but the first row of the nosebleeds) we had a great view of her. Then she jumped down (keep in mind this was quite a height), ran through the crowd to the other side, and climbed up on that railing and did it all again.

She started the concert with Sweet Escape, followed by Rich Girl, both done to a jail-break/bank robbery theme. Her finale was What You Waiting For, which brought the house down. While I love these high energy songs (like Wind it Up, Hollaback Girl and Now That You Got It), what I really loved were the ballads which really gave her voice the chance to shine. Her rendition of 4 in the Morning was fantastic. I also really enjoyed Early Winter (see below).

I was slightly disappointed (but not surprised) that she didn’t do any No Doubt songs. I always thought she was Hella Good, back when she was Just A Girl. I was really hoping she might sing Don’t Speak. Oh well. It was a fantastic show anyway.

Unfortunately this video isn't from the Belgian show (apologies for the crappy quality), but I'm sure those will be coming soon (There are already two short clips on youtube from the Belgian show, including the baby clip above). This was one of my favorite performances of the night. Check out the base player's vocal solo at the end... she rocked! Gwen should produce her album. (My favorite line in the song? Why do you act so stupid? You know that I'm always right...)