by Michael Bialas

Created on: August 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

With a high-profile marriage, two kids, rock megastar status and a successful fashion line, it's becoming extremely difficult to believe Gwen Stefani when she sings I'm Just a Girl.

But the sold-out crowd for the May 27 No Doubt show at Fiddler's Green bought it, so what's the problem? On a pleasant night at the 16,000-plus-seat venue just south of Denver, where the estrogen flowed as freely as the energy, Stefani was the embodiment of female empowerment.

Judging by the many female tweens, teens and more mature Gwen wannabes in attendance, this no longer is a man's world. And now that Madonna has turned 50, it's time for The Material Girl to pass on her royal crown as ruler of the magic kingdom. Gwen, who'll turn 40 on Oct. 3, is the new Rock 'N' Roll Queen, but just one of three attractive and powerful women who took center stage this night.

Paramore's Hayley Williams and The Sounds' Maja Ivarsson were also in the house, fronting their respective bands during short but appealing sets. They paved the way for Stefani's first appearance with No Doubt in Denver since a performance in the much cozier Denver Coliseum on Nov. 6, 2002, during their formidable Rock Steady tour.

The SoCal group, also including guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young, officially began this reunion tour May 16 in Las Vegas and will continue as one of the hottest acts of the summer until at least Aug. 11-12, when they are scheduled to perform in Honolulu.

No telling what will happen after that. Stefani's story (and she's sticking to it) is the group decided to come together in order to find time to write and record a new album. That might be a remarkable accomplishment even for this Wonder Woman, who is trying to do it all while raising her 3- and not-quite-1-year-old boys while hubby Gavin Rossdale plays elsewhere during a scaled-down and far less-ambitious tour.

After a five-year absence, during which Stefani started a family and kicked a solo career into high gear, the band returned looking and sounding better than ever. While Young's appearance (bare chest, heavy makeup and a gelled Mohawk) remains full-on flaky, Stefani, Dumont and Kanal were resplendent in white-hot attire matching a well-designed and wide-open-spaces stage that allowed for a lot of running, high-kicking and group calisthenics. Near the end of the 90-minute show, before performing Just A Girl, Stefani even dropped down and gave the audience eight solid pushups, proving she's still in amazing

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