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    RodeoHouston 2022

    Pop queen Gwen Stefani leaves no doubt about her star power in RodeoHouston debut

    Johnston Farrow
    Mar 16, 2022 | 12:47 am
    Stefani was bananas — B-A-N-A-N-A-S — in her rodeo debut.
    Stefani was bananas — B-A-N-A-N-A-S — in her rodeo debut.
    Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

    Well, that was hella good.

    Drawing songs from her 30-year career, the California-raised, girl-power heroine Gwen Stefani put on a show in front of 65,561 on Tuesday, March 15, making us wonder, why did it take so long for her to make her debut at RodeoHouston?

    The pandemic is quite obviously the biggest reason for the delay — two years to be exact since her 2020 show was cancelled. But Stefani could have easily rocked out NRG Stadium much longer ago, achieving superstar status as a solo artist in 2004 with the seven-times platinum-selling, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. after selling 33 million worldwide with her ska-influenced alt-rock band, No Doubt.

    Stefani has played Houston many times previously, way back to a early-years, pay-your-dues performance with her former band on the University of Houston campus in 1992, mostly ignored by students hustling to and from class.

    This time around, she had a captive, much more appreciative audience there to see the pop queen fashionista who since then has topped of the charts and sold millions of albums.

    It’s a remarkable success story. The bottled blonde singer, dressed in a gorgeous, bedazzled, gold, white and green cowgirl outfit finished with white boots, started with the pop radio hit "Sweet Escape," the title track of her 2006 album, igniting the first of many singalongs throughout the evening.

    She was flanked by a gaggle of dancers who had choreographed moves for every song, backed by a four-piece band, including the standout trombone-keyboard player, Gabrial McNair.

    "Sunday Morning," from the massive-selling 1995 No Doubt album, Tragic Kingdom, foreshadowed many songs from her time in that band and brought us back to when they ruled MTV and the radio. "It's been a two-year wait, but that’s okay!," said the 52-year-old, still stunning after decades in the game. "I can't believe it... I’m here at the rodeo in Houston!"

    "Underneath It All" from 2001's Rock Steady brought some ska and reggae flavor, complete with some light ska dancing. Stefani served as her own hype woman, keeping everyone in the stadium engaged. “I really like you, Houston! I really like you!" she said. And we liked her right back.

    A relative deep-cut, "Bathwater," the fourth single from No Doubt’s 2000 album Return to Saturn reached way back into the songbook while her dancers executed line dance-influenced moves. "I don’t want to disappoint you," she told us, alluding to her husband that has headlined RodeoHouston countless times.

    "I’m married to Blake Shelton and I'm sorry he's not here right now, but he's at home being a good dad and babysitting!" "It's My Life" came next, the 1984 cover song by Talk Talk that No Doubt took to No. 10 when it was included on their 2003 greatest hits collection, The Singles, 1992-2003. It was one of the most rocking moments of the night and a great showcase from her extra tight band.

    "Rich Girl" from the well-represented solo record, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., brought the crowd to their feet. The funkier, new wave No Doubt singles, "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Hella Good" followed, everyone jumping up and down at the singer’s command, a fun moment.

    Back to Tragic Kingdom, the '90s power ballad "Don’t Speak" drew some of the loudest cheers and had cellphone flashlights in hands as Stefani ascended 20 feet into the air to serenade the crowd. Her voice never sounded better all night.

    Known for mixing up genres in her solo work, Stefani brought something for everyone with "Wind It Up" from The Sweet Escape bringing yodeling to RodeoHouston next to Latin flourishes over a marching band beat. "Cool" from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. slowed things down to a couples-dance-at-prom speed, a hint of romance along with the slow-burn rock guitar licks.

    "Luxurious," another single from the same album, veered into bedroom soul, a tune that wouldn’t be out of place at a Boyz II Men concert. "I'm feeling nostalgic because I’ve waited two years for this," she exclaimed. "[Back then], I had a life in Anaheim, California. Now I live in Oklahoma and I’m at a rodeo. I feel like we are family now!"

    "What You Waiting For?," her timeless debut solo single kicked off and it was straight fire with rampant arse-shaking in the aisles, the most dance-music indebted song of the night with a thumping 4/4 bass drum groove. The energy now at level red, it was back to No Doubt hits, "Hey Baby" from Rock Steady, including more ska dancing and a toast by McNair.

    Tragic Kingdom single, "Spiderwebs," had anyone who grew up in the '90s with a smile on their face. "We were a band for nine years before we got a song on the radio," Stefani stated before the penultimate track. "This song is bigger now than it ever was back then."

    Debut Tragic Kingdom single, "Just a Girl," had all the ladies in the house up on their feet, a feminist anthem for the ages, the crowd practically drowning Stefani’s vocals.

    The Neptunes-produced No. 1 song "Hollaback Girl" wrapped up the evening, making NRG Stadium practically explode. Everyone sung the earworm chorus — no clean version needed — and the applause at the end of the stone cold 2005 classic might have been among the loudest moments in NRG history.

    With that, Stefani jumped on the back of a Ford truck, still hyping up the crowd until she wheeled into the tunnel. If last week's Journey show was for the Boomers, here was a performance for late Gen Xers and early Millennials, largely underrepresented at RodeoHouston.

    One welcome surprise was the number of No Doubt hits included on the setlist, a dream come true to anyone that followed the Orange County band from the beginning. And while nostalgia did play a big factor in overall success of the night’s performance, this was the kind of fan service we were completely on board to see and experience.

    Gwen — we’re on a first name basis after that performance — simply crushed it in what is in the running for the best concert of the RodeoHouston season, her neon-bright personality shining from start to finish, and her sing-shout vocals sounding excellent throughout.

    Indeed, that s**t was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

    Setlist

    “Sweet Escape”

    “Sunday Morning”

    “Underneath It All”

    “Bathwater”

    “It’s My Life”

    “Rich Girl”

    “Ex-Girlfriend”/“Hella Good” (Vegas Version)

    “Don’t Speak”

    “Wind It Up”

    “Cool”

    “Luxurious”

    “What You Waiting For”

    “Hey Baby”

    “Spiderwebs”

    “Just a Girl”

    “Hollaback Girl”

    No Doubt fans were pleased,

    Gwen Stefani Rodeo Houston 2022
      
    Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
    No Doubt fans were pleased,
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    Movie Review

    How to Train Your Dragon remake puts a fresh twist on the original

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 12, 2025 | 4:14 pm
    Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon
    Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
    Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon.

    Let’s get it out of the way right at the top: The new live-action How to Train Your Dragon, coming a mere 15 years after the original animated film, serves no real purpose other than to make more money for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures. However, unlike Disney’s approach toward remaking their animated movies, this attempt manages to succeed on its own merits instead of being a half-baked vessel for nostalgia.

    As fans will remember, Hiccup (Mason Thames) lives in Berk, a town on a remote island populated by Vikings who constantly have to defend themselves against rampaging dragons. Hiccup’s dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), is the community’s vaunted leader, with a legacy that seems impossible for Hiccup to measure up to, especially since he’s stuck in the armory alongside Gobber (Nick Frost).

    But Hiccup has a knack for inventions, and his use of one new weapon during a dragon attack takes down a feared Night Fury. Finding the wounded dragon deep in the forest, Hiccup decides against killing it, leading to an unexpected bond between the two of them. Most of the film shows Hiccup trying to prove himself to his townspeople, including the fierce Astrid (Nico Parker), while also nursing the dragon he dubs Toothless back to health with the help of another one of his ingenious creations.

    Written and directed by Dean DeBlois (who’s had the same roles on all four HTTYD films), the film is most notable for how engaging it is despite it retelling a story many already know and love. The biggest reason for this is a pivot away from telling a story mainly for kids toward one that feels like an extremely light version of Game of Thrones. Almost right away, there are real stakes for the people in the film, and the way DeBlois and his team stage the scenes, the danger can be felt by the audience.

    This sense of “realness” comes through especially well in the scenes between Hiccup and Toothless. The design of Toothless is faithful to the original, but the CGI makes the dragon feel amazingly believable. And when they start flying, the film literally and metaphorically takes off. At multiple points, the camera seems to have trouble keeping them in frame, a smart move toward verisimilitude when the filmmakers clearly could have made it an overly smooth watching experience.

    Even though it’s more serious than the original, the film still has plenty of fun to offer. Characters like Gobber (who replaces his two missing limbs with odd contraptions) and the ragtag group of teenagers who come to be in awe of Hiccup’s skills at taming dragons provide more than a few laughs. Hiccup isn’t quite as goofy as he was when voiced by Jay Baruchel, which turns out to be a good thing as his sense of purpose amps up the drama of the story.

    Thames’ performance gets better and better as the film goes along, as Hiccup goes from town whipping boy toward hero. He really shines in the last act when he’s given a few scenes that show off his acting range. Parker is equally good, demonstrating the girl power needed for the role, but also the softness of a potential love interest. Butler, the only actor reprising their voice role, is a great presence who sells the outsized personality of Stoick.

    Against the odds, this new version of How to Train Your Dragon is equal to the success of the first film, accomplishing the goal of making it feel like you’re watching the story for the first time. If live-action remakes are going to continue to come out, future filmmakers should study this film for how to respect both the history of the franchise and the audience paying good money to be entertained.

    ---

    How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters on June 13.

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