Interpol's Paul Banks performs on Saturday at Lollapalooza
Photo: Jeff Gentner/Getty Images

CHICAGO — Perry Farrell's good luck ran out on Saturday (August 4) when the predicted rain finally fell from the sky to the tune of Karen O's manic wails. But the downpour surely didn't dampen the spirits of the Lollapalooza crowd, which grew significantly on this, the festival's second day.

(Get your Lollapalooza fill: Watch the Roots' ?uestlove, Perry Farrell, Cold War Kids, Stephen Marley and more chill in the shade with Tim Kash and see snaps of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Daft Punk, M.I.A., the Rapture and more.)

Instead of bringing down the mood, the rain kind of cooled things off and made for a nice, humid vibe during Interpol's closing set, as lights were hit with rain, sending steam into the air. Taking the stage like a gang of new-wave Black Barts, Interpol closed out day two of Lollapalooza with style, a boatload of low-end and the velvet-rope-jumping swagger they've become famous for. The thudding bass of dressed-in-black Carlos D. and the molar-rattling kick-drum of Sam Fogarino set the crowd dancing (and doing other things) during the see-sawing "Slow Hands, " as the somber group kicked off a 70-plus-minute set that alternated between propulsive rockers and moody meditations.

It was hard to gauge just what inscrutable singer Paul Banks — also, of course, dressed in black pants, black shirt and sporting a black wristband — was thinking, since his blond mop of hair was hanging in his face for much of the set and he didn't speak except for a perfunctory hello to the rain-soaked crowd.

All the fans needed to hear was the group's string of midset narcotic lullabies building up to the stadium-size anthem "Evil, " which has "instant classic" written all over it. From the Pixies-like walking bass intro to the rat-a-tat drums, Banks' just-behind-the-beat singing and the slashing/watery guitar line from Daniel Kessler, the tune lived up to the band's rock and roll desperado look. And when Carlos D. held up his bass to play his part as if it were a giant Roman Candle, it almost made you wish some sparks would fly out of it.

The rain let up just in time for Muse's closing set, which was a visual stunner: 10-foot panels of pulsating lights, with blinding strobes, and gigantic screens, projecting strange sci-fi (think "Tron") and politically tinged imagery. Opening with "Take a Bow," a powerful commentary on both President Bush and former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to enter Iraq, Muse reinvigorated the soggy crowd. The band couldn't have been more on — every note was executed masterfully, making this the perfect ending to a day full of high points.

Next came "Hysteria, " followed by "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes." Frontman Matthew Bellamy's haunting vocals put an interesting spin on the band's only cover of the night, Nina Simone's "Feeling Good. " The anthemic performance continued with "Apocalypse Please," "Invincible," "Starlight" and "Time Is Running Out," all of which had the audience mesmerized — these guys put on a huge rock show, which ended with the triumphant "Knights of Cydonia." Muse set the bar pretty high and will be a tough act to best on Sunday.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs certainly brought the power as well. As we've learned from musical history, rock stars are born, not made. And whatever DNA contributed to the makeup of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O must have been one wicked batch. The dynamo lead singer of the indie champs stole the show Saturday with a fashion-forward set that had more costume changes than a Cher extravaganza and some rebel yells that threatened to rattle the windows of the skyscrapers on the Chicago skyline.

Strutting onto the stage in a giant silver cape with black Charlie Brown-style wavy stripes and silver tassels hanging off the neck, O took center stage and eyed the audience before dropping the cape to reveal an all-black leather outfit — bustier, shorts, fingerless gloves, some kind of skirt — accented by silver high-tops and black criss-cross leggings. As the band ripped into the monster-stomping "Sealings, " with O yelling, "Shoot, shoot out your mouth, " she exuded rock-star cool from the first moment, owning the audience.

The punk blues of "Honeybear" lurched around like a drunken, well, Lollapalooza fan, speeding up, slowing down and dropping into grinding dirges as the rain began to fall. O messed with her stage getup throughout the set, putting on a feathered mask with silver tassels, draping her face in a silver shawl, ripping her gloves off with her teeth and smearing her red lipstick around so it looked like she'd been punched in the mouth.

The day started off way more mellow, but no less ominous, with a disco-dance-of-death set from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, whose singer, Alec Ounsworth, sounded less like former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne — whom he is often compared to — and more like a helium-voice preacher. The jangly sounds of "Yankee Go Home" (with the unforgettable refrain "Yankee go, Yankee go, Yankee go home") morphed into a spooky waltz that sounded way too creepy to play in broad daylight — and the day had plenty of creepiness.

After opening by singing a cappella, accompanying herself on percussion by tapping on the microphone rhythmically, oddball singer/songwriter Regina Spektor paid tribute to a legendary artist who would take the stage a few hours later, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith, by playing her song "Poor Little Rich Boy," which, in turn, references Smith's version of the Who's "My Generation." Again improvising for percussion, Spektor banged on a chair with a drumstick while playing piano with her left hand during the spare tune. Spektor also stopped her set midway into the second song, "On the Radio," when she spotted a fan who had passed out in the middle of the crowd, urging security to get her some help. "I think there's someone sick," she said in her kewpie-doll voice.

Snow Patrol also reached out to a fellow Lolla act during their set with a duet with Silversun Pickups bassist Nikki Monninger, who filled in for Martha Wainwright on the track "Set the Fire to the Third Bar." The overly polite Scots (frontman Gary Lightbody thanked the audience after every song the band performed and even dedicated each track — to the crowd, to the other bands on the bill, to Monninger "for being so sweet") performed a veritable best-of from their growing catalog, including songs like "Run," "Chasing Cars" (the closing chorus of which the singer left to the audience), "How to Be Dead" and "Spitting Games," which Lightbody dedicated to a man in the front row, who was dressed, from head to toe, in a Spider-Man costume and waving an Irish flag to catch the singer's attention.

About 20 seconds into the song, the Spider-Man wannabe made a beeline for the stairs leading up to the stage but was tackled by a team of security guards before he could make it past the third step. As the final notes of "Spitting Games" reverberated across the open field, echoing off the trees, Lightbody, disappointment in his voice, muttered, "Well, I guess he wasn't the real Spider-Man."

One of the warmest receptions of the day was bestowed upon the Cold War Kids, whose set was impassioned, flawless, and, at times, soulful. There wasn't a person in the fist-pumping audience who wasn't singing along with frontman Nathan Willett — doing his best Joe Cocker impersonation — during "Hang Me Up to Dry."

Next up was this generation's answer to P-Funk, the Roots, arguably the tightest band here at Lollapalooza. The band turned up the funk with a genre-spanning medley filled with chunky bass, virtuoso guitar (that inspired some rapturous hyperbole from our blogger), mind-boggling drum solos and a complete horn section. The Roots shifted effortlessly, and without skipping a beat, from Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" to Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," then to the Gang's "Apache" and Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." Next came ODB's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" and MIMS' "This Is Why I'm Hot."

The band's performance even attracted the likes of Geico's Caveman, who made his way through the sea of sweaty flesh in front of the stage, giving high-fives and posing for pictures with the hippies that saturated the crowd. The Roots ended things with a cover of the New Birth's "I Can Understand It," which then faded into a captivating James Brown medley. Still, all the folks here had to contend with was a slight drizzle, but the clouds above Chicago are getting darker, and more and more engorged with rain.

Meanwhile, over on the MySpace stage, the Hold Steady geared up and turned out perhaps the most entertaining performance thus far — if only because of how much fun these guys obviously have when they're in their element. The blood rushed to Steady frontman Craig Finn's face as he spit out the lyrics to fan faves like "Chips Ahoy!," "First Night" and "You Can Make Him Like You." And appearances aren't deceiving in this band's case — these dudes absolutely love being onstage.

"We played here last summer, and I said it was the most fun I'd ever had before 3 p.m.," Finn, who was sporting a Ron Gardenhire jersey, explained. "This is shaping up to be the most fun I've had in my life."

Sherwood started off the day on the MySpace stage with a feel-good, feedback-filled set that included a confession. "We've never been to a Lollapalooza before," said frontman Nate Henry. "I'm sorta confused as to how this happened."

The first act to hit the main stage was Ontario, Canada's Tokyo Police Club, a young indie/ garage-rock outfit whose every song seemed to end on a dime. The band woke the crowd up with a heaping helping of bombastic drum blasts, tinny guitar squeals and thick, syrupy bass lines. And despite the early hour, the turnout for the Club was strong. "It's shocking to see so many of you here," noted frontman Josh Hook before the band launched into the explosive "Box." The crowd showed their appreciation, applauding loudly for the Lolla virgins.

Later on, Minneapolis rockers Tapes n' Tapes churned out a driving set that was so loud it nearly blew the MySpace stage's amps — but not loud enough to scare away at least three dads in attendance, who traipsed through the crowd with infants strapped to their chests. The highlight of the band's volatile performance was "Beach Girls," during which drummer Greg Alsop hammered the skins as if the fate of the free world depended on it.

I'm From Barcelona also warmed up the already-warm crowd with a memorable pre-noon set. The 20-plus-member Swedish band (which included everything from a tuba player to a percussionist with banana-shaped maracas) nearly topped the Polyphonic Spree's Friday set when it came to stage-filling energy and enthusiasm. With songs about chicken pox ("You can't have it once you've had it") and cassettes, lead singer Emanuel Lundgren led the wacky pop/polka powerhouse through a set that had crowd members' hands waving in the air and included a kazoo solo from a fan who claimed he'd never had the pox.

The pre-lunch hours also brought a rare bit of soul to the proceedings, with a funky set from sets from Georgia's Ryan Shaw, a dreadlocked Sam Cooke-alike who had to raise the roof even higher to with the sound bleeding over from dour rocker Pete Yorn on an adjacent stage.

And if you haven't heard of R&B singer Kevin Michael yet, there's a good chance you will soon. Though he played to a sparse crowd, the young singer with the towering afro and a voice that mixes the soulful side of Michael Jackson with a hip-hop edge, played (tellingly) to a mostly female audience during his short set. Unfortunately, hometown hero Lupe Fiasco didn't show up to reprise his cameo on the hand-clapping banger "We All Want the Same Thing," but Michael's keyboard and guitarist/beatboxer band held it down ably as the buff crooner jumped down off of the stage to get some face time with his adoring female fans.

Make sure to stick with MTVNews.com for your Lollapalooza news all weekend.

Seen a great show? MTV News wants your photos, videos and reports from all the latest concerts, including Lollapalooza, for our new You R Here community site. Check out the site to read, rate and comment on reviews from around the globe. We'll put the best stuff on our You R Here blog, and even in on-air news!

[This story was originally published on 8.4.07 at 6:11 p.m. ET.]

• A Look Back At Lollapalooza 2007

• Pearl Jam, Amy Winehouse, Lupe Fiasco, M.I.A., More At Lollapalooza 2007

• Interpol
• Muse
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Snow Patrol
• Cold War Kids

Lupe Fiasco
Photo: MTV News

• Lupe Fiasco
• Ben Harper
• Amy Winehouse
• Juliette & the Licks
• Kings Of Leon

T.I.'s <i>T.I. vs. T.I.P.</i>
Photo: Grand Hustle/Atlantic

Did all of you Smashing Pumpkins fans miss the memo about the band — well, frontman Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, along with a bunch of hired guns — reuniting to record an album, its first in nearly a decade? We ask because only 144,800 of you hit the bricks last week to purchase Zeitgeist, the Pumpkins' sixth studio LP and the first since their 2000 breakup and subsequent 2005 re-formation.

Music-industry know-it-alls figured Zeitgeist would fare better on next week's Billboard top 200, bumping T.I. from the albums chart's #1 position. But it didn't work out that way. Instead, the Pumpkins debut at #2, after being outsold by T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. by more than 30,000 scans, despite the rapper suffering a 63 percent sales slide from last week. Hence, T.I.'s reign as Billboard's champ remains intact for a second straight week, thanks to reported sales of more than 175,000, according to the latest SoundScan figures.

If the Pumpkins had prevailed, they would have earned the second #1 opener of their career; 1995's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness bowed on top, selling 246,500. But it just wasn't in the cards — in fact, Zeitgeist is the Pumpkins' worst performer, sales-wise, since 1993's Siamese Dream, which opened at #10 with 71,900 copies sold.

Following the Pumpkins at #3, falling one chart position, is Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus, the latest release from the star of the Disney Channel original series "Hannah Montana"; the LP sold another 128,000 copies. Kelly Clarkson's My December slips two spots to #5 with 58,600 scans; at #6, with 55,000 sold, it's Bon Jovi's newest, Lost Highway. Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight hangs tough at #7, with sales of 54,000, while Fergie's Dutchess pops up at #8 with 49,700 scans. Amy Winehouse's Back to Black drops one spot to #9, having sold 48,700 units.

A couple of other rockers make their debuts in next week's top 10. Our Love to Admire, the third LP from Interpol, becomes the band's first outing to debut in the top 5, coming in at #4 with 73,200 scans. And just making the cut at #10 are Austin, Texas, indie darlings Spoon, whose Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga generated sales of more than 46,000. In total, 17 new releases make their debuts on next week's chart, including Aly & AJ's Insomniatic, which bows at #15 with sales of 39,200.

Entering at #20 is the soundtrack to the film "Hairspray," which features the vocal stylings of John Travolta, Zac Efron, Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer and more. The set sold 36,700 copies during its first week. Following at #35 is the latest from seminal punks Bad Religion, New Maps of Hell, selling to the tune of 20,750. Another soundtrack debuts at #43, this one for the hit film "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which scanned more than 15,900 units. Crowded House's Time on Earth trails in the #46 spot, having sold 15,500 copies.

Opening at #57 is the latest from Against Me!, New Wave, which sold more than 12,300 copies during its first week in stores. Further down on the chart, finishing at #106 with 6,800 sold, is Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free, the new one from Reel Big Fish. Darkest Hour's latest, Deliver Us, follows at #110 with 6,600 scans. Gogol Bordello's Super Taranta! comes in at #115, thanks to first-week sales of 6,250, while They Might Be Giants' The Else takes the #118 slot, with 6,000 copies moving off store shelves.

Mark Ronson's latest, Version, bows at #129, thanks to 5,600 scans, while comedian Patton Oswalt's Werewolves and Lollipops finished at #137, with more than 5,200 copies snatched up. Country star Tracy Lawrence's The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence opens at #163 with 4,630 scans, followed at #164 by Danzig's double-disc collection The Lost Tracks of Danzig, which sold 4,600 units.

• MTV News RAW: T.I.

• T.I.
• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Interpol
• Spoon
• Aly & AJ

Smashing Pumpkins' <i>Zeigeist </i>
Photo: Martha's Music/ Reprise

The new releases are raging this week, with labels cranking out a ton of titles to make up for last week's holiday respite. Fittingly, Tuesday (July 10) is the 86th birthday of the original Raging Bull, boxer Jake LaMotta, so, in the spirit of the sport, we're pitting this week's contenders against each other boxing-match style. Let's get ready to rumble!

Main Event: Smashing Pumpkins vs. Interpol The Pumpkins might actually have more in common with Crowded House — both bands recently reunited and just played at Live Earth. But when it comes to the Billboard albums chart, Billy Corgan and his cohorts have a more formidable opponent in Interpol. The Pumpkins actually tried to issue their Zeitgeist comeback LP on Saturday, to coincide with the worldwide concert event, but alas, the U.S. is still caught up in that whole Tuesday-release thing. With songs like "Doomsday Clock," "Neverlost," "For God and Country" and more, the band's album should fit comfortably next to Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero or even Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight.

In the other corner loom the ever-gloomy Interpol — and while their new effort Our Love to Admire has an insipid album title, it has been ratcheting up strong reviews in Mojo and elsewhere. Most striking of all might actually be the specially packaged version of the release, which comes in hardcover-book casing and contains a poster to boot. And if you're reading this in Japan, you have access to two additional tracks tacked onto the release: "Mind Over Time" and an instrumental version of "Mammoth."

Heavyweights: Aly & AJ vs. Cheetah Girls The sisters Michalka have had their hands full lately — if you haven't seen them starring in the recent "Super Sweet 16: The Movie," then you might have caught them hyping Hope for Education (they're the charity's spokespeople) or even gracing the cover of (sigh) Honey-Comb cereal boxes. Among all their other endeavors, they've somehow managed to squeeze out Insomniatic, an album that is being reconfigured for seemingly every major retailer (iTunes, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and others all feature slightly modified track lists).

The sisters are hoping to beat out another female posse for the tween vote: the Cheetah Girls, who were created by Walt Disney after the wild success of the film of the same name. The trio's The Cheetah Girls in Concert: The Party's Just Begun Tour CD (with an accompanying DVD) captures them performing songs from the soundtracks to the first two films. Remind you just a little of "High School Musical"?

Middleweights: Mike Jones vs. Crowded House For two artists who have probably never been mentioned before in the same breath, Mike Jones and Crowded House have at least one thing in common: It's taken fo'eva for them to churn out new material. Way back in December 2005, the Texas spitter told us he was 85 percent done with his second album, The American Dream — and if it's taken a year and half to cobble together the last 15 percent, we should hope it's some of the tightest rap music ever recorded. It could be, though, that he wanted to polish off another project: his movie, also called "The American Dream," also drops this week.

Crowded House have taken even longer to put out a new album, but you can't really blame them — the group broke up in November 1996 before reconvening in January of this year. Time on Earth, the act's first new studio effort in 14 years, features original members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, plus written and performance contributions from Johnny Marr (Modest Mouse, the Smiths) and none other than the Dixie Chicks.

Welterweights: Against Me! vs. Bad Religion Punk padres face off against punk princes this week too: Against Me! — one of the hottest punk bands out there right now, along with Tiger Army — are flooding the record racks with their New Wave, which is loaded with such revealing protest-song titles as "White People for Peace" and "Americans Abroad." The album was produced by Butch Vig, who famously sat behind the boards for Nirvana's Nevermind.

While you have the early '90s on the brain, you might recall that Bad Religion were really coming into their own around that time. New Maps of Hell, the band's third release since guitarist Brett Gurewitz returned to the fold and 14th studio album overall, couldn't dovetail more perfectly with New Wave — songs include "The Grand Delusion," "Requiem for Dissent" and "Submission Complete."

Middleweights: Spoon vs. Foo Fighters

Do you like your Foo Spoon-fed? While you're chewing on that one, you might want to say, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" — that's the goofy title of indie-rock immortals Spoon's new album. Better jump on it quick, as the first pressing comes with the limited-edition bonus EP Get Nice!, which actually contains more tracks (12), oddly enough, than the LP itself (10). Don't miss "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case," "Black Like Me" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb."

Foo Fighters are also feeling generous — they've dumped six more songs onto the revisited version of their classic The Colour and the Shape for the LP's 10th anniversary. The extras include covers of Killing Joke, Gary Numan and Gerry Rafferty songs, as well as the album's title track, which actually came out as a B-side.

Lightweights: Darkest Hour vs. Nile These metal bands are hardly wimps, but as far as the Billboard chart goes, they'll have some work ahead of them this week. On their fifth LP, Deliver Us, Sounds of the Underground participants Darkest Hour portend a "Full Imperial Collapse," "Fire in the Sky" and "Doomsayer (The Beginning of the End)," with FYE shoppers getting an extra dose of maniacal metalcore as a bonus: the track "Closing on the Day."

Nile are on this summer's opposing metal tour — Ozzfest — and, while also a death-metal band, are a bit more brutal than DH. This week, former label Relapse digs through the crates and pieces together Legacy of the Catacombs, which is littered with 12 of the band's choice cuts, plus a DVD boasting all its videos.

Featherweights: M. Ward vs. Nick Drake And to cap it off, a quiet contest between soft-spoken singer/songwriters new and old. Ward's first album, Duet + Guitars 2 — originally issued by Co-Dependent Records in 1999, then re-released the year later on Howe Gelb's OWOM label — is back again, this time with three extra slices. Drake's Family Tree set teems with more unreleased material, an hour of material the revered folkster recorded before his Five Leaves Left debut. Featured on the extra content is Drake performing with his mother and sister, early versions of some Five Leaves Left tracks and between-song chatter and laughter.

Song Title of the Week:

"... And Justice for All My Loving" from Beatallica's Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band

Album Cover of the Week:

Interpol's Our Love to Admire

Other Notables:

Gogol Bordello's Super Taranta!
Jamming with Madonna during her performance at Live Earth London was a great PR move for these New York underground gypsy punks — but are Madge fans really going to dig them? Probably not. In case you're not already familiar with Gogol, the meaning behind their nonsense album title should avail you of their insanity: "Taranta!" is a nod to "tarantella," a form of extreme traditional Italian music made to cure hysterical women. In a recent press statement, frontman Eugene Hutz elucidated: "Gogol Bordello is known for talking about sex, politics, life and the mysteries surrounding our existence, all while showing our original and strong visions of the New Rebel Intelligence — the ability of an individual to interpret actions and objects personally despite authoritarian and informational hysteria." Do you really need to know more?

Roky Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me" DVD and soundtrack
This psychedelic rocker's story is an especially sad one, with the documentary chronicling how Erickson went insane but was recently brought back into the music world thanks to his brother, who had to obtain legal custody of him. The DVD is packed with extras, including acoustic performances, "I Know the Hole in Baby's Head" and other readings, a postscript on his emancipation hearing and more. For its part, the soundtrack has two exclusive songs — "For You" and "Goodbye Sweet Dreams" — and a raft of Roky classics.

Jesse Harris's Feel
Unlikely Erickson, this Bright Eyes and Norah Jones collaborator is much less likely to be found in a room playing five TVs at the same time. He recorded his seventh album in just three days, but managed to spill a lifetime's worth of emotion into the disc. "How Could It Take So Long" depicts a displaced New Orleans resident at the Louisiana Superdome in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, while elsewhere on the album Harris gets deep about love and relationships. He integrates Caribbean sounds into "Fire on the Ocean" and, elsewhere on the disc, jazz beats to boot.

New Releases:

· Against Me! - New Wave (Sire)
· Aly & AJ - Insomniatic (enhanced; Hollywood)
· American Black Lung - Sudden Departure of Vultures (Uprising)
· Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell (Epitaph) [Buy Now]
· Beatallica - Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band (Oglio) [Buy Now]
· Bedlight for Blue Eyes - Life on Life's Terms (Trustkill)
· Boat - Let's Drag Our Feet! (Magic Marker) [Buy Now]
· Ayla Brown - Forward (Double Deal Brand)
· B-Side Players - Fire in the Youth (Concord)
· Buffalo Tom - Three Easy Pieces (New West)
· The Cheetah Girls - The Cheetah Girls in Concert: The Party's Just Begun Tour (with DVD; Disney)
· Crowded House - Time on Earth (ATO)
· Darkest Hour - Deliver Us (Victory)
· Down to Earth Approach - Come Back to You (Vagrant)
· Droid - Droid (Chime) [Buy Now]
· Fairmont - Wait & Hope (GFB)
· Gallows - Orchestra of Wolves (Epitaph)
· Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! (Side One Dummy)
· The Gourds - Noble Creatures (Yep Roc)
· Great Lakes Myth Society - Compass Rose Bouquet (Quack Media)
· The Hanslick Rebellion - The Rebellion Is Here.(Eschatone)
· Jesse Harris - Feel (Velour)
· Hawaii Mud Bombers - Mondo Primo(Wicked Cool)
· The Icarus Line - Black Lives at the Golden Coast (Dim Mak)
· Interpol - Our Love to Admire (special edition packaged in hard-covered book form due same day; Capitol) [Buy Now]
Read: "Call Interpol 'The Worst Band On The Planet' — They Don't Care"
· Jason Isbell - Sirens of the Ditch (New West)
· Mike Jones - The American Dream (Ice Age)
Read: "The Dream Is Nearly Over For Mike Jones"
· Justice - Cross (Vice) [Buy Now]
· Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers - Glassjaw Boxer (Everfine)
· Kool & the Gang - Still Kool (two CDs; New Door/UMe)
· Joachim Kühn and Majid Bekkas - Kalimba (Act Music & Vision)
· Justin Lanning - Behind These Eyes (SMC)
· The Leftovers - On the Move (Rally)
· Lez Zeppelin - Lez Zeppelin (Emanation) [Buy Now]
· Mayday Parade - A Lesson in Romantics (Fearless)
· Mustangs and Madras - Le Lechuza (digipak; Latest Flame)
· Oh No! Oh My! - Between the Devil and the Sea (EP; Dim Mak)
· Ra Ra Riot - Ra Ra Riot (Rebel Group)
· Reel Big Fish - Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free (Rock Ridge) [Buy Now]
· Fionn Regan - The End of History (Lost Highway)
· Kim Richey - Chinese Boxes (Vanguard)
· Chris & Rich Robinson - Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy (Eagle)
· Mark Ronson - Version (Allido/RCA)
· Round Mountain - Truth and Darkness (Fast Horse)
· Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye (Domino)
· Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist (Reprise) [Buy Now]
Read: "Smashing Pumpkins Drummer Offers More Clues About Forthcoming LP"
· Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (limited edition comes with bonus CD; Merge)
· St. Vincent - Marry Me (Beggars Banquet)
· Stratospheerius - Headspace (D-Zone)
· Suphala - Blueprint (Suphala)
· John P. Strohm - Everyday Life (Superphonic)
· They Might Be Giants - The Else (Idlewild/Zöe)
· To My Boy - Messages (digipak; Abeano Music/ XL) [Buy Now]
· Trashlight Vision - Alibis and Ammunition (Rock Ridge)
· The Unseen - Internal Salvation (digipak; Hellcat)
· Bill Wence - Songs From the Rocky Fork Tavern (615)
· Alexa Wilkinson - Lullaby Appetite (DNK)
· Jamie Williams - After Hours (Jamie Williams Music)
· Roddy Woomble - My Secret Is My Silence (7-10)
· Various artists - Healing the Divide: A Concert for Peace and Reconciliation (Anti-)
· Various artists - "Hairspray" soundtrack (New Line)
· Various artists - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" soundtrack (Warner Bros.)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material:

· Terry Allen - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· Bee Gees - "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack (Rhino)
· Botch - American Nervoso (Hydra Head)
· Nick Drake - Family Tree (Tsunami)
· Roky Erickson - "You're Gonna Miss Me" soundtrack (Palm Pictures)
· Donald Fagen - The Nightfly Trilogy (three-CD box set; Rhino)
· Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape (RCA) [Buy Now]
· The for Carnation - Promised Works (Touch and Go)
· Kinky Friedman - Live From Austin TX (New West)
· Tracy Lawrence - The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence (Rhino)
· Doyle Lawson - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· Nguyên Lê - Purple: Celebrating Jimi Hendrix (ACT)
· Lonesome River Band - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· The Monkees - Headquarters and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.; (two-CD deluxe editions; Rhino)
· Nashville Bluegrass Band - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· Nile - Legacy of the Catacombs (Relapse)
· No Use for a Name - All the Best Songs (Fat Wreck Chords) [Buy Now]
· John Phillips - Jack of Diamonds (Varése Sarabande)
· Reckless Kelly - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· Peter Rowan - Americana Master Series: Best of the Sugar Hill Years (Sugar Hill)
· Stephen Stills - Just Roll Tape: April 26, 1968 (Rhino)
· The Vacancies - Tantrum (Blackheart) [Buy Now]
· M. Ward - Duet + Guitars 2 (Merge)
· Various artists - Body + Soul: Funky Love (Time Life)
· Various artists - Uptown Soul, Downtown Funk (Sunswept)

Music DVDs:

· The Beatles - "Beatles' Biggest Secrets" (Image) [Buy Now]
· Armin van Buuren - "Armin Only: Ahoy 2007" (two DVDs; Ultra)
· The Chieftans - "Live Over Ireland - Water From the Well" (Image)
· The Dresden Dolls - "Live at the Roundhouse, London" (Eagle Vision)
· Roky Erickson - "You're Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson" (Palm Pictures)
· Kinky Friedman - "Live From Austin TX" (New West)
· Engelbert Humperdink - "Greatest Performances 1967-1977" (Universal)
· Marillion - "Live From Loreley" (EMI)
· Supersuckers - "Live in Orange Co." (2B1)

Digital Releases:

· Dead Betties - Nightmare Sequence (hits brick-and-mortar stores on September 4; Cordless)
· K Banger - Truth Be Told (Shaman Work)
· Monster in the Machine - Butterfly Pinned (hits brick-and-mortar stores on August 21; Emotional Syphon)
· Page France - Page France and the Bonus Telephone EP (iTunes only)
· The Scene Aesthetic - Building Homes From What We've Known (Destiny Worldwide)
· Various artists - Simple Life Camp Songs (available through E! Online and iTunes; Nettwerk)

Coming Attractions:

July 17:
· All-American Rejects - "Tournado" DVD (Interscope)
· Avenged Sevenfold - "All Excess" DVD (Warner Bros.) [Preorder]
· Too Short - I Love the Bay (Up All Nite)
· Yellowcard - Paper Walls (deluxe edition with DVD due same day; Capitol) [Preorder]
· Various artists - Now That's What I Call Music! 25 (UTV)

July 24:
· Prince - Planet Earth (Columbia) [Preorder]
· Sum 41 - Underclass Hero (Island) [Preorder]
Read: "Sum 41 Kill President In New Song — Deryck Whibley Says It's 'A Metaphor' "
· Tegan and Sara - Con (deluxe edition with DVD due same day; Vapor/Sanctuary)

July 31:
· Common - Finding Forever (Universal) [Preorder]
Read: "Kanye West, Lily Allen Finding Something In Common"
· DevilDriver - The Last Kind Words (Roadrunner)
· Korn - Untitled (deluxe edition with bonus DVD due same day; Epic) [Preorder]
Read: "Korn Are Cracking Up Over Eighth LP's 'Gothic Feel,' Munky Says"

• Interpol Spread The Love

• The Smashing Pumpkins
• Interpol
• Aly & AJ
• Mike Jones

Interpol
Photo: Capitol

On The Record: A Pun About Leaking Would Probably Fit Nicely Here

Poor Interpol. Not only have they been surpassed by Editors, a British band that, to put it kindly, is pretty much a second-rate version of Interpol, but they have to spend every waking minute with bassist/fashion-plate Carlos D, who went from looking like Crispin Glover's angular, sorta-goth cousin to a bolo-tie-wearing cross between Hans Gruber and Snidely Whiplash within the span of roughly one year.

And on top of that, just last week — despite their best efforts and those of their label, Capitol Records — their new album, Our Love to Admire, leaked all over the Internet. This would be a bummer for any band, but for Interpol, it was especially sad. After all, they had just sat down with me for an interview about Love, primarily to talk about how great it was that it hadn't leaked yet.

"Basically, people need to be patient," drummer Sam Fogarino told me. "And nobody wants to do that these days."

Poor, nameless music journalist. Not only did you recently (and perhaps unwittingly) leak tracks from the upcoming Animal Collective album Strawberry Jam, but you awoke last Monday to find yourself the black sheep of the industry, thanks to an e-mail from the band's publicist, Judy Miller, sent to pretty much every other music journalist on the planet, which read, in part:

"Hello friends -

"Sorry to write this one....but.....

"Last week three tracks from Animal Collective's new album leaked. Within minutes, we were able to track the leak to a writer's CD. That person got in more trouble than you care to hear about and was almost fired. The person was also forced to write an apology letter to an entire staff of people and the head of Domino Records along with other penance."

Needless to say, it's been a pretty strange month in the ongoing war between the music industry and piratude of all shapes and sizes, one that kicked off with the whole Jack-White-Calls-Chicago-Radio-Station-And-Bitches-Them-Out-For- Broadcasting-A-Leaked-Copy-Of-His-Album fiasco; included both of the incidents mentioned above; and just recently saw the launch of Thou Shall Not Leak, a blog started by a dude in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that threatens to "post the names ... of those people who've been given the care of having an early copy of a release and have set that responsibility aside and leaked the record they were entrusted with."

It's a battle that no one really seems to be winning, but that's not stopping either side from re-upping their armaments and charging headlong into the fray. Capitol sent me Interpol's Love as a streaming-only file, yet several people have told me that ripping a streaming file is "beyond easy." Last week, "Doomsday Clock," the opening track on the Smashing Pumpkins' upcoming Zeitgeist album, hit the Net, and in response — and as a way to squeeze every last drop of blood out of the stone — Billy Corgan and company announced that there would be four different versions of the album available to fans. And after years of getting burned by peer-to-peer sites, all four major labels are getting behind QTrax, a licensed P2P-er that will offer between 20 million and 30 million songs for download, an announcement most on the other side of the fence greeted with a scoff, since the songs are locked by copy protection and after a few listens, they will direct users to buy the tracks.

So who's wrong and who's right? Well, no one (and probably everyone). On one hand, record labels have been too slow to react to technologies, and as such missed getting in on the ground floor of a brave new business model. They've gotten caught hiding software on CDs that basically spies on consumers. They are out-of-touch and charge too much for CDs. And the Recording Industry Association of America is equally as bad, deciding long ago that carpet-bombing campuses with lawsuits was the best way to discourage downloading.

On the other, everyone else is guilty of being impatient a--holes. People are willing to ignore artists' rights and basically assume that they own the music — and as such, they'll break the law to get their hands on it. And music journalists who leak records — those who the guy behind Thou Shall Not Leak threatens to expose (in his own fairly lengthy way) — are even worse. They are men and women who choose to just chuck professionalism out the window and ruin it for the rest of us.

And maybe people like Sam Fogarino and Jack White are guilty of being a bit old-fashioned, looking wistfully backward and ignoring the fact that — at worst — a leak means they've lost a few thousand in sales (and at best, it's free publicity for their albums). But that doesn't mean they don't have the right to get pissed about it.

After all, we're living in an era where pretty much everybody is to blame for pretty much everything. Whether or not anyone steps up to accept that blame is another story altogether. And a pretty unlikely one at that.

B-Sides: Other Stories I'm Following This Week

Gwen Stefani changes up live gig, temporarily replaces Harajuku-girl accessories with former No Doubt bandmates. (See "Gwen Stefani And No Doubt Surprise Fans With Hometown Reunion.")

I honestly thought "Rupert Grint" was the name of a character in the "Harry Potter" books because I've never actually read one of them. Because I'm not 9 years old. (See " 'Harry Potter' Casting Call Could Help Ron Weasley Find Perfect Shade Of Lavender.")

Andre 3000's pseudo-wedding was a lot like my own, minus the floor-length mink coats, stripper fights and Lukas Haas. (See "T-Pain, Big Boi Watch Andre 3000 Get Hitched In A Kilt — In UGK's 'Anthem' Clip.")

Cleaning Out My Inbox (Or "Interactivity, While A Touchstone Of So-Called 'New Media,' Is Actually Overrated And Kind Of A Waste Of Time")

So it turns out that last week's Bonnaroo-bashing edition of BTTS (see "Henna, Hippies, Hateration: Braving Bonnaroo, In Bigger Than The Sound") actually inspired plenty of hippies to put down their water-filtration devices and pick up their pens (er, keyboards), which was excellent because A) I got lots of e-mails from Boulder, Colorado, and B) It's been awhile since I've been insulted by someone named "MoonShadow."

I've collected some of the less bong-addled ones here for your enjoyment and to prove that not all stereotypes about hippies are correct. (Some, for example, do not grill sandwiches on the engine bloc of their VW van.)

"Wow, man. As a writer for MTV, VH1 or whatever it is and whoever owns whoever, I thought I could expect more of a passionate write-up about such an awesome music festival. Rather, you dissed it. A lot. ... Bonnaroo is the REAL music lovers festival. Along with Coachella. For the people who attend these things, they LOVE what they do and that's why they come back each year. Kinda bums me out that you would want to hate on such an epic festival that brings so many people together to have a good time, enjoy good music, and promote nothing but union and love. Kind of like Woodstock."
-Ashley Amber Schmidt, Boulder, CO

"It's amazing to me you would stay four days for a major network like MTV and you SKIP the HEADLINER?? Widespread Panic, though often tossed aside by mainstream media as a 'Grateful Dead wannabe jam band,' has an amazing and unique style and critics seem to just blow them off completely and ignore their true musical talent and ability. I urge you to attend a show. You missed a good one at Bonnaroo, and for people like me who have children now and couldn't attend, we get pissed when we see others getting paid to go and they skip the best band of the weekend."
-Goulaglenn, somewhere in the wilds of the Internet

"No questions or concerns, just wanted to say that you pretty much encapsulated the experience ... and the Police should have played at midnight since they were skipping out early anyway and thought the entire crowd was from Tennessee! The Lips were much finer. So did you miss the National Geographic photo ops, or just suppressing the photos? My husband and I saw what appeared to be a naked (but painted) lady Friday, and a whole group of guys following her at a distance. Btw, we're from Louisville, too, but forgot our family ice pick."
-Gayle Benton, Louisville, KY

"Just read your article on Bonnaroo. Thanks for the insider tips about the Kings of Leon's jeans. That was a riddle wrapped in an enigma for all the people I know who listen to those guys. I think you missed out on some 'non-jam-band' amazing performances that are worthy of MTV buzz. Specifically, the Galactic late-night show that played opposite the Flaming Lips. I love the Lips and was at the 2003 show he spoke about before 'Fight Test,' but I pulled myself away from them to see Galactic. It was an excellent choice. Those guys debuted their upcoming new hip-hop album with a host of live MCs. That show was an amazing fusion of rock and hip-hop, and everyone in there was dancing their asses off."
-Jonathan Peck, Boston

Questions? Concerns? Carlos D? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• Interpol Spread The Love

• Interpol
• Editors

Interpol's Paul Banks and Sam Fogarino
Photo: MTV News

There comes a time in the career of nearly every band when they officially stop listening to what critics have to say about them. For Interpol, you'd think that time is now.

See, recently, Britain's fabulously, er, bandwagon-leaping music publication, the New Musical Express, wrote a fawning review of a live performance by Editors, a band that could charitably be described as "Interpol-esque." And while the review itself wasn't exactly newsworthy, the fact that its author chose to kick it off by calling Interpol "the worst band on the planet, a tuneless, talentless shower of Joy Division copyist f---wits" is.

Not to mention that he describes frontman Paul Banks as a "whining, dreary, two-note-monotone singer" who sounds like "a cancerous baboon having his tonsils amputated," suggests that Banks' bandmates should be "dragged c--k-first into the nearest ditch, shot in the head with a bolt gun and have their entrails fed to diseased rats," and calls the band's upcoming album, Our Love to Admire, "unmitigated dogsh--."

(Did Interpol feel pressure recording their new album Our Love to Admire? Watch right here.)

So you'd think Banks would read that, throw his hands in the air, and let loose a similar fusillade of expletives (or maybe he'd have a good chuckle at the fact that some writer is losing his mind over a band like Editors).

But, in actuality, Banks says he's long ago given up reading — or caring — what the media has to say about his band, which is more of a survival mechanism than anything else, considering just how many people have so much to say about Interpol.

"With our band, there's always going to be something," he said. "I learned very quickly — almost from the first album — not to read that stuff, because it has nothing to do with what I do," he said. "If you need to do something creatively, you just do it. You don't worry what people are gonna think. I mean, I don't really put that much stock into what any jackass on the street tells me about anything, so why put much stock into something just because it's in print?"

And that mindset will undoubtedly serve Banks well in the coming months, as Interpol unveil Love (due July 10), a sonically spacious and lyrically amorous effort that takes everything the band has done on its previous two albums, rips it apart and airs it out on a clothesline over Big Sky country. It's a record that's by turns spookier ("Pioneer to the Falls"), spacier ("Mammoth") and more somber (the album-closing "The Lighthouse") than anything Interpol have done to date. It's a luminous, fully realized band album brimming with ideas and instrumentation, the kind that only comes when a group of musicians cut all ties from the outside world and go for broke. Which is exactly what Interpol did.

After wrapping a solid year of touring in support of 2004's Antics (see "More Interpol Tour Dates? Check; More Videos? Maybe Not") they returned home to New York and took a much-needed break ("I went out and got bombed," Banks laughed). Then they reconvened and, no longer signed to indie Matador Records, found themselves in a place both strangely familiar and, well, strange: free to be a band focused solely on the business of being a band.

"We just disappeared for three months, and then we were writing again," Banks said. "To the world we had disappeared, but we were together writing. Once the songs disappeared, we sort of derailed, but we started writing again, and it was like an evolution."

"The future wasn't totally unseen," drummer Sam Fogarino said, "but to have a moment where we didn't even worry about a record label, and to be able to exist as a band and just worry about the songs — period — and pushing our own envelope ... it wasn't something we hadn't been experienced since pre-[Turn on the Bright Lights, the band's 2002 debut]. And it's kind of amazing to be in this position after a couple of records, going to make the third, moving on to Capitol Records, and to feel that way — feeling brand new again — we're not supposed to feel that way."

(See Interpol talk about "feeling brand-new again" right here.)

Although you might not know if from Love's first single, "The Heinrich Maneuver" — which is about as classic a slab of Interpol as you can get — pretty much everything about the band is different these days.

And though the idea of change might frighten some of the band's fans and give critics yet another reason to sharpen their knives, Banks and Fogarino see Love as the best thing they've ever done, a record born out of creativity, necessity and ignoring the opinions of pretty much everyone not in Interpol.

"There's a certain alleviation of pressure that you can hear on this record," Fogarino said. "It's easier to please yourself first, and once you've done that, you're able to be way more honest with what you're trying to do."

"If there's a difference between these albums, it's that we're individually better musicians and as a band we're better songwriters. It's different in that it's an evolution for us," Banks added. "These songs couldn't have been written around Bright Lights because they're all, in my mind, better songs that we were incapable of writing back then."

• Interpol Spread The Love

• Interpol

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington at the KROQ Weenie Roast on Saturday
Photo: MTV News

IRVINE, California — For people itching to hear some of this summer's most anticipated new music, the place to be this weekend was Saturday's KROQ-FM Weenie Roast y Fiesta, where the lineup was stacked with bands on the verge of releasing long-awaited new material.

The day kicked off with the Plain White T's over on the second stage, a.k.a. "stage dos" in keeping with the day's Latin theme. The former You Hear It First pick was followed by fellow YHIF alums Silversun Pickups as well as Swedish whistlers Peter, Bjorn and John and Rancid's Tim Armstrong playing solo and delivering scorching riffs under an equally scorching sun. Not to worry, though — there were free sombreros in the Fiesta Village, a place for concertgoers could snack, buy merch and cool off.

As things wound down on stage dos, KROQ darlings Tiger Army took the main stage (no witty Spanish title here). The psychobilly band's "Forever Fades Away" is the current most-requested and most-played song on the L.A. rock station, and the Bay Area trio powered through that and other tracks off their upcoming Music From Regions Beyond, due June 5.

(Check out photos of Tiger Army, Linkin Park, Korn and more from Saturday's show.)

Once their set ended, the revolving stage made the first of many 180 degree turns, revealing a plugged-in and ready to go Bravery, who also had new music to share. Although the crowd was still filing into the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, the very danceable "Public Service Announcement" inspired a fiesta mood. The band followed with the new single "Time Won't Let Me Go," which hits stores Tuesday on the Bravery's new album, The Sun and the Moon.

Next up were 30 Seconds to Mars, who are no strangers to KROQ's music fests, having played KROQ's Inland Invasion show just last year. "It's weird to think that we are veterans of the KROQ shows now, because I was remembering actually sneaking backstage [at a Weenie Roast] to try and watch a band from the side of the stage a number of years ago," frontman Jared Leto recalled.

When the stage spun around for 30 Seconds to Mars' set, the audience instead found a group of folk dancers showing off traditional Latin American moves and fashions. Soon, however, Leto hit the stage ... wearing a sombrero. Always one to put on a spectacle, he also made his way deep into the crowd — twice — even singing closing number "The Kill" as he made his way up to the cheap seats.

(See Jared Leto talk about 30 Seconds to Mars being Weenie Roast "veterans.")

With the crowd now suitably amped, one of the most anticipated bands of the day, Bad Religion, made its way onstage as Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and other artists took a side-stage vantage point to watch. Among their catalog of hits, the Bad boys treated the fiesta-goers to the new single "Honest Goodbye," off July 10's New Maps of Hell. Scoring points for timeliness, the band also cranked out "Los Angeles Is Burning," calling to mind the actual L.A. wildfires from earlier this month.

While Queens of the Stone Age kept Bad Religion's energy going onstage — with new material as well, including the fresh single "Sick, Sick, Sick" — the party was really starting backstage. Those lucky enough to score backstage passes enjoyed a bar, "Guitar Hero" (appropriate, since three bands on the day's bill have songs in the game), and general people/hipster watching/ogling. Both Leto and MySpace phenomenon Tila Tequila made for popular backstage photo ops.

Following an all too sunny set by Interpol (another band stuffing CD racks on July 10) that was cut short due to equipment problems, the revolving stage spun around to reveal a surprise performance that at first caused more head-scratching than high-fiving. A 14-member a cappella group in tuxedos was putting its unique spin on Incubus' "Dig." Confusion turned to screams, however, when Incubus' Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger walked out a minute later to join in.

While the Killers had been scheduled to appear in that slot, last-minute health problems sidelined frontman Brandon Flowers. "There was another band with a lead singer named Brandon and he got sick," Boyd jokingly told MTV News. "I know what that's like, and it sucks, so they called another band with a singer named Brandon because that's kind of the theme they were going for." The power of YouTube connected Incubus and the singing group, called Ithacapella, after Boyd saw an online clip of their version of "Dig."

The last time the next band had an album out, YouTube was barely a dream. But Orange County's own Social Distortion did what they do best, playing the favorites that will appear on their greatest-hits album due June 26, complete with the new track "Far Behind."

(See Incubus' Brandon Boyd talk about the male choir that opened the band's set.)

The crowd instantly recognized the next act within the first few riffs of its opening number, going into a frenzy that lasted throughout the entire heart-pounding set. Singer Jonathan Davis even prompted a rarely seen over-the-head hand clap from a SoCal audience for the entirety of "Got the Life." New material came in the form of "Evolution," from July 31's still-untitled new album (see "Korn Are Cracking Up Over Eighth LP's 'Gothic Feel,' Munky Says").

Davis was clearly beaming backstage after the performance, which was the band's first full gig with some new members. "It was pretty much a coming-out show in the new lineup because we got [guitarist] Clint [Lowery] from Sevendust and we got [percussionist] Joey [Jordison] from Slipknot up playing with us and it's a different Korn," he said. "It sounds insane — the drums are insane, everything going on is completely different. So after tonight I think we're really, really stoked."

(See Jonathan Davis talk about Korn's "insane" set.)

Closing out the evening were locals Linkin Park. "We ... grew up listening to KROQ, and I remember coming here last year just as a fan of the show and walking around seeing the different bands," guitarist Brad Delson said backstage, "so not only to be playing it this year but to be headlining is a huge honor."

(See Brad Delson talk about Linkin Park's set.)

As the band kicked things off with "One Step Closer," the crowd showed it still had plenty energy left to cheer, sing and mosh to the most anticipated act of the day's bill. Fans hadn't forgotten any of the old songs, singing along during "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong," among others, but they showed the same amount of enthusiasm for new tracks off the just-released Minutes to Midnight.

When Linkin Park were done, though, and the last note had finally faded away, concertgoers were confronted with something not at all new to them: an enormous traffic headache as some 16,000 people all left the same parking lot at once. Aye-yi-yi!

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Linkin Park, Korn, Incubus, More At Weenie Roast '07

• Linkin Park
• Korn
• Incubus
• 30 Seconds To Mars
• Bad Religion

Tony Yayo (file)
Photo: Brian Ach/ WireImage

Tony Yayo made his first court appearance Wednesday morning (April 25) in New York in connection with allegations that he roughed up Game manager Jimmy "Henchman" Rosemond's 14-year-old son on March 20. According to Yayo's lawyer, Scott Leemon, very little happened during the brief preliminary appearance, at which the case was adjourned until July 24. Leemon again expressed his belief that Yayo was not involved in the incident, telling MTV News, "After a thorough investigation, I steadfastly and adamantly state to you that Tony Yayo did not slap anyone," Leemon said. "I am hopeful that when [authorities] complete their investigation, they will come to the same conclusion. Yayo, as a father, understands the allegations and would never do anything to harm a child." ...

Beyoncé, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff, Fergie, Chris Brown and Katharine McPhee made People's 2007 "Most Beautiful" list. Click here to see photos from the issue, which hits newsstands Friday. To see more photos and check out video from the photo shoots, visit People.com. ...

The "American Idol" charity special "Idol Gives Back" racked up a whopping 70 million phone votes for a variety of charitable organizations, according to the publicity firm that handles the TV show. Two lines per contestant were opened to make it easier for callers to get through — that usually doesn't happen until the finals — and Fox parent company News Corp. has said it will chip in 10 cents for each of the first 50 million votes cast. ...

Opening statements began Wednesday in the trial of Phil Spector, with prosecutor Alan Jackson telling jurors that the music producer, "when he's confronted with the right situations, turns sinister and deadly," The Associated Press reports. Spector reportedly appeared tense during the televised hearing, and his attorneys were set to present their own opening remarks later in the day. ... Two diaries Anna Nicole Smith wrote in the early 1990s were sold for $59,750 after failing to sell at a recent auction, AP reports. An unnamed record-company executive was the buyer. ...

Russell Simmons appeared on "Live With Regis & Kelly" on Wednesday and clarified his stance on questionable hip-hop lyrical content. Simmons explained that he isn't calling for a full-on ban of certain words, but said, "We need to find more digestible ways to get our message across when it's coming through public airwaves." Simmons said he believes the request, which he made along with the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, is a reasonable one and stressed that there should be more corporate responsibility for what lyrics are broadcast. ... KCAA-AM, the Southern California radio station that had been rebroadcasting "Don Imus in the Morning" to rebel against the radio host's firing over racist and sexist comments, will end the reruns Friday, AP reports. Attorneys for CBS Radio and KCAA said they had agreed to end a lawsuit aimed at halting the rebroadcasts. ...

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke posted yet another strangely phrased missive on the band's blog earlier this week, writing that Radiohead are getting back to work after taking last week off. He added that he has "a CD of what we've been up to ... and you haven't. Yet. Sorry." (It's. OK. Thom.) Yorke goes on to write that he "must listen to it, after taking an ear break ... that always makes me nervous." ... Eminem is going back to his roots. The rapper and his longtime manager are in negotiations to take over the famed St. Andrew's Hall complex in downtown Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. The pair are trying to negotiate a plan to lease the venue from owner LiveNation, which would give them control of the liquor license and day-to-day operations of the venue that was the site of many of Em's earliest performances, some of them depicted in his semiautobiographical film, "8 Mile." The deal could be completed as early as next month. ...

In an unusual move, three of this summer's Ozzfest bands — Lamb of God, Hatebreed and Behemoth — will also play select dates on the Sounds of the Underground Tour. Suicidal Tendencies, Testament and Mushroomhead have also been announced as special guests for the trek, which was already set to feature Chimaira, Gwar, Every Time I Die, the Number Twelve Looks Like You, Goatwhore and others. Lamb of God will headline the recently added August 11 date in Louisville, Kentucky, with Hatebreed and Behemoth taking the stage earlier in the day. Testament will appear during the July 14 show in Sayreville, New Jersey, and Mushroomhead will close the July 21 Cleveland date, as well as take the stage July 22 (Columbus, Ohio); July 23 (Chicago); and July 24 (Minneapolis). Suicidal Tendencies will headline the August 3 (San Jose, California); August 4 (Irvine, California); and August 5 (Mesa, Arizona) dates. ...

The band that gave you "The Sun Never Sweats" and "Stinkin' Up the Great Outdoors" is reuniting once again, this time to rock you at the Wembley Stadium portion of Al Gore's Live Earth concerts on July 7, AP reports. Yes, all original members of mock rockers Spinal Tap are strapping on the skin-tight trousers and lace-up leather tops one more time for the London gig, which will also feature a cameo by Marty DeBergi (a.k.a. Rob Reiner), the (fake) documentarian who immortalized them on film in 1984's "This Is Spinal Tap." Reiner will also unveil a new 15-minute short he directed about the band's reunion on Wednesday at the Tribeca Film Festival. The group has recorded a new single for the occasion called "Warmer Than Hell." ...

Dave Navarro is launching his own weekly Internet series on ManiaTV called "Dave Navarro's Spread Entertainment," an hour-long variety show that will feature interviews, performances and comedy acts. The program, which debuts May 17, will be broadcast live from the Dragonfly nightclub in Hollywood and shot in front of a live audience. Navarro has described the show as "an avant-garde Internet talk show focusing on the arts and the human condition." ... The Cooper Temple Clause have decided to throw in the towel. According to guitarist Daniel Fisher, the break was initiated by his decision to leave the band last week. "In the wake of this decision, the rest of the boys agreed to call it a day and pursue other interests," he wrote in a statement. "Friendships are well and truly intact and the love very much remains within the camp." ...

Papa Roach drummer Dave Buckner has decided to sit the rest of the band's current tour out due to unspecified personal reasons. He is expected to rejoin the group at a later date, and in the interim, the band will use a stand-in for its upcoming shows, including Wednesday night's gig in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. ... Rosie O'Donnell announced her departure from "The View" on Wednesday's show, explaining that she couldn't agree on contract terms and will end her run in June. "It just didn't work," she said, "and that's showbiz." O'Donnell joined the show in September and has been at the center of controversy since she returned to daytime TV, including an ongoing battle with Donald Trump that often involved series co-host and creator Barbara Walters. "We have had, to say the least, an interesting year," Walters noted Wednesday, adding, "I do not participate in the negotiations for Rosie. ... This is not my doing." Walters said they do not have a replacement host in mind.

04.24.2007

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are officially through, The Associated Press reports. The couple's divorce was made final in Orange County, California, on Tuesday (April 24), with the settlement having been worked out in advance. Houston will get full legal and physical custody of the couple's 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. ...

Bono will appear on "American Idol" for Wednesday night's "Idol Gives Back" special two-hour results show, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, to speak with the six finalists about the One campaign's aim to eliminate poverty. The contestants will perform "American Prayer," a song about Africa's AIDS crisis that was written by the U2 frontman with Dave Stewart. Other performers scheduled to appear on Wednesday's show include Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood and Celine Dion. ...

Rihanna will debut the video for "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) on her Web site Thursday. The track is the first single from Rihanna's upcoming third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, due June 5. ... Ashlee Simpson wants you to forget anything bad you've heard about her father. Joe Simpson, who manages Ashlee's career as well as sister Jessica's, isn't the overbearing stage father he's sometimes made out to be, she insists. "People have the wrong perception of him," Ashlee said in an interview published in the May issue of Harper's Bazaar. "He's a wonderful man. He would never hurt a fly." Simpson also said she thinks having more family involvement could help her peers, such as Britney Spears, cope with fame. "I think they should probably move out of L.A.," she said. "I think that their parents need to help them." ...

Simon Cowell and Clive Davis are combining their powers to help Leona Lewis ensure success. Lewis is the first female winner of Britain's "The X Factor" — a TV show produced by Cowell's SycoTV — and Cowell and Davis will collaborate to pick the producers and songs for her yet-untitled debut album, due on J/Syco. ... Eddie Murphy isn't sure he's the father of Mel B.'s new daughter, but the former Spice Girl has decided to name the baby Angel Iris Murphy Brown anyway, AP reports. In a statement, the singer explained how she came up with the name: "Angel, as she was my little angel through my pregnancy. Iris, as it's my grandma's name, Murphy because he's the dad, and Brown, because I'm the Mum!" ...

Willie stays free: Willie Nelson and his tour manager David Anderson won't be going to jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, AP reports. Louisiana State District Judge Paul deMahy put Nelson and Anderson on six months' probation and fined them $1,024 each as part of a plea agreement stemming from citations issued in September. Nelson, Anderson, Nelson's sister and two drivers were cited after state troopers found marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms on the singer's tour bus. ... Four men and two women were chosen as alternate jurors Tuesday in the trial of Phil Spector, AP reports. ...

Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz will open a nightclub in New York with members of his own band as well as members of Gym Class Heroes, the Academy Is ... and Cobra Starship; the bands' managers are also involved in the enterprise. Called Angels & Kings, the club will occupy the former space that housed the Orchard Bar, on 11th Street near Avenue A. The club is scheduled to open Monday. ... Ne-Yo will perform Tuesday at Arena in New York to kick off the second annual Hennessy Artistry Tour. Ne-Yo will also perform at the second night on the tour, scheduled for Thursday in Washington, D.C. ... While he's been one of the tour's staples for the last six years, Zakk Wylde said his band, Black Label Society, will not be playing this summer's free Ozzfest. Wylde will, however, appear with headliner Ozzy Osbourne, playing guitar during the festival namesake's set. ...

Russell Simmons' new motivational book "Do You!" was released Tuesday, and the music mogul held court at a Borders bookstore in downtown Manhattan, New York, to celebrate its release. Simmons is also scheduled to sign copies of his book Tuesday evening at a Barnes & Noble in New Jersey and later host a party at Stereo in NYC. ... George Michael will have to appear in a London court the day before performing at Wembley Stadium, AP reports. The trial of the singer, who is facing charges of driving under the influence of drugs, begins May 8 and will be followed by hearings May 30-31 and June 8. His Wembley shows are set for June 9-10. ... James Brown's legal woes continue, but the deceased singer's backing band is carrying on — the 17-piece Soul Generals are planning a series of shows, AP reports. The first will take place at New York's Apollo Theater on May 3 — Brown's birthday. ...

Tom Morello, a.k.a. the Nightwatchman, joins some names you might not expect — Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley and Elvis Perkins — at this year's Dunkin' Donuts Newport Folk Festival (August 3-5) in Newport, Rhode Island. The fest will also feature sets from the Allman Brothers Band, North Mississippi Allstars, John Butler Trio, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and Assembly of Dust. ... Morello is also the star of a new video feature on MySpace in which the Rage Against the Machine guitarist is interviewed by documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. Morello talks about the origins of the Nightwatchman character, which he honed on off-nights from an Audioslave arena tour by playing open mics. The video is available at MySpace.com/ArtistOnArtist. ...

Interpol's forthcoming, still-untitled third album has been slated for a July 10 release. ... The Click Five have parted ways with frontman Eric Dill, and have replaced him with Kyle Patrick. "We know he will be missed by many, and we wish him the best success in his other endeavors," the band said in a statement. The Click Five's second LP, Modern Minds and Pastimes, is due June 26. Dill explained on his Web site that he's moved to Los Angeles to try acting and other musical endeavors. "I have never been more excited to pursue my interests," he wrote. "I have a lot of ideas, and that's where it starts." ... Static-X have recruited Bevan Davies as their latest drummer. Davies, who has worked with Danzig and Jerry Cantrell, will be filling in for Nick Oshiro, who is recovering from a broken hand. Will Hunt had most recently manned the kit for the band. Static-X plan to make a summer-tour announcement in the coming weeks.

• Tony Yayo
• Lil' Kim
• Diddy
• Busta Rhymes
• Radiohead

Pamela Anderson
Photo: Brad Barket/ Getty Images

After just four months of marriage, Pamela Anderson has filed for divorce from Kid Rock. Anderson cited "irreconcilable differences," according to divorce papers filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court. "DIVORCE: Yes, it's true," Anderson wrote on her Web site, next to a picture of the couple. "Unfortunately impossible," she added, cryptically. The couple were married in three separate ceremonies, beginning on July 29. ...

Beyoncé is looking for dancers for her upcoming world tour. Five U.S. cities will host open-call auditions: Los Angeles (December 6-7), Atlanta (December 9), Houston (January 6), New York (January 11-12) and Chicago (January 27). Dancers may be male or female and of any nationality, but must be at least 18 years old. For more information see www.beyonce.com. ...

"American Idol" alum Jennifer Hudson has signed with Arista Records to release her yet-untitled debut album, the label announced Monday (November 27). Hudson is set to make her big-screen debut with a buzz-worthy performance in next month's Dreamgirls, which also stars Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé. A spokesperson for the label said Hudson will begin recording her debut LP next year. ...

The late Princess Diana's sons — Princes William and Harry — are planning to mark the 10th anniversary of their mother's death with a charity concert at London's 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium on July 1. The show, to be hosted by the two princes, commemorates what would have been Diana's 46th birthday. London's Sunday Times reported that among the artists likely to appear include Elton John, Beyoncé, George Michael and Kylie Minogue. Pharrell Williams and the Killers have also reportedly been approached to participate. ...

U2's claim to the top-grossing tour of all time was brief. The Irish band's barely nine-month-long reign was brought to an end by (who else?) the Rolling Stones. Billboard reports that the Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour — which began in the fall of 2005 — shattered the $377 million gross of U2's year-long trek by grossing $437 million and drawing 3.5 million people to 110 shows. If, as expected, the tour stretches into 2007, it could end up bringing in more than $500 million. ...

The long-simmering feud between Apple Computers and Apple Records, which has kept Beatles music off iTunes, could be close to an end. According to Fortune magazine, iTunes is close to a deal that would not only bring the Beatles catalog online for the first time, it would also give iTunes an exclusive on the Fab Four's music for a limited time. Among the issues reportedly being hammered out is how long that limited period of exclusivity will last, and whether the Beatles and their representatives would allow the band's music to be used in an iPod commercial. Neither side would comment officially on the negotiations. ...

Yoko Ono issued a full-page notice in Sunday's New York Times under the title "Forgive Us." The message, in observance of the approaching 26th anniversary of the murder of her husband, John Lennon, was a plea for forgiveness from the world's poor and suffering people "for having been unable to stop the tragedy" [apparently a reference to violence and hunger]. "Know that your loss is our loss," she wrote, later noting, "As the widow of one who was killed by an act of violence, I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger." ...

Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward said that, contrary to reports, he will not be working with Heaven & Hell, which finds Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler reuniting with Ronnie James Dio, the band's singer from 1979-83, as well as former Sabbath/Dio drummer Vinny Appice. "I realize there has been some speculation as to whether or not I am participating in the Heaven & Hell project," Ward wrote in a post on his official Web site. "I want to confirm that I will not be involved in either the recordings for the upcoming CD or the subsequent tour. I want to wish the guys — Tony, Geezer, Ronnie and Vinny — much success for the coming year." A posting on Iommi's Web site from October lists Ward as being involved in the project. ...

Sartorially splendid, sonically somber New York quartet Interpol have hit the studio to begin work on their third album, their first for Capitol Records. According to a post on their official Web site, the band are holed up in a New York studio and "the atmosphere and environs of a recording facility affect the sound and feel of an album in the subtlest ways. And we are affected. And it is subtle." There's no indication of when fans will get to hear any of said subtlety, but the guys add that everything "sounds great so far, but we'll be here for a while yet." ...

The Black Eyed Peas will release their first live DVD, "Live From Sydney to Vegas," on December 5. Bonus footage includes videos for "Union" and "Bebot" and a live performance of Fergie's "London Bridge." ...

11.22.2006

Hilary Duff is onto the paparazzi's moves, and she's got a surefire trick to throw them off. The singer/actress said in an interview featured in the December/January issue of Jane that she has a tactic to duck photographers trying to capture her in a tough moment with her boyfriend, Good Charlotte's Joel Madden: "If we're out someplace, we could totally be fighting, but we'll be looking at each other like this," Duff explained, reportedly flashing a big smile, "because there's a camera right there. Then we end up forgetting we're in a fight, because we're laughing since it's not a real thing to do, and we're both such real people." Real people who listen to music you may not expect, Duff insisted. "I love the Faint. If they would do a song for me, I would blow a fuse." ...

Reprise Records will re-release early Green Day material December 19. The band's 1,039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk! were originally issued on Lookout! Records, and then reissued by that same label in 2004, but Green Day removed the LPs from the Lookout catalog last year after allegations that the band was owed royalties. ... AFI, Trent Reznor, Rise Against and Hellogoodbye have been named winners of the Libby Awards, a new honor put on by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. ("Libby" is short for "liberation.") AFI won Best Vegetarian Band, Rise Against's "Ready to Fall" earned them Best Animal Rights Song of 2006 and Nine Inch Nails frontman Reznor was honored as the Best New Fur Foe. Runners-up included Silverstein, Motion City Soundtrack and NOFX. ...

We're just months away from seeing exactly how "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" translates from book to the big screen (Feast your eyes on the film trailer right here), and now the young wizard's fifth adventure is about to go interactive. The "Order of the Phoenix" video game, scheduled for a July release, will allow players to explore Hogwarts and control multiple characters, including Harry, Sirius Black and Dumbledore. The game is currently being developed by Electronic Arts and will be released for the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC. ...

Capitol/Priority is commemorating the 20th anniversary of hip-hop pioneers N.W.A, with The Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge, due December 26. A deluxe version of the 17-song retrospective CD comes with a bonus DVD featuring previously unreleased interviews with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. In other N.W.A news, nine songs by the act will debut as ringtones on December 12. ... Lil Scrappy's "G's Up TV," a weekly show recounting the rapper's journey to music from the streets, launched Tuesday at GsUpTV.com. In addition to Scrappy's firsthand accounts of his life and career, the series features skits — including a cognac tasting with Lil Jon — and celebrity guests such as Three 6 Mafia, Young Buck and Jamie Kennedy. The series will run through December 5 release, when his debut LP, Bred 2 Die, Born 2 Live, drops. ...

Angelina Jolie made an unannounced visit to Cambodia on Wednesday (November 22), The Associated Press reports. The actress, who adopted her son Maddox from the country, spoke with government officials about the $1.3 million nature-conservation project she is funding there. ... The advice may be too late for Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson, but Will Smith is sharing his secret to keeping a celebrity marriage alive: "Divorce cannot be an option," he revealed in the current issue of Reader's Digest. Smith explained that he quit his marriage to first wife, Sheree Smith, when he "could have fixed it" — and he said he won't make that mistake again with Jada Pinkett Smith. "With Jada, I stood up in front of God and my family and friends and said, 'Till death do us part.' So there are two possible outcomes: We are going to be together till death or I am dead." ...

After separate jaunts opening for Killswitch Engage and Dragonforce, piping-hot Massachusetts metallers All That Remains will head out for their first headlining track in support of this year's The Fall of Ideals. The band is hoping to have a permanent drummer by the time it kicks off the North American trek, slated for late January. ... Bayside — the New York band that lost a drummer in a van accident while on tour with Hawthorne Heights earlier this year — have assembled a short December trek with Junior Varsity and others called the Holiday Havoc Tour. The outing begins December 3 in New Haven, Connecticut, and winds down December 11 in New York. Bayside's junior album is due February 6. ... Pop punks Cartel will hit the road next year with Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, Permanent Me and Quietdrive. The 19-date trek kicks off February 7 in Carrboro, New York, and makes stops in Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Dallas, San Diego, Las Vegas and Seattle before winding down March 9 in Milwaukee. ...

This Christmas, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour will release three live tracks that he's dedicated to former bandmember and friend, the late Syd Barrett — who died this summer of pancreatic cancer. An acoustic cover of Barrett's "Dark Globe" and two new versions of Floyd's "Arnold Layne" will be available for download through Gilmour's Web site beginning December 25. ... Reunited New Jersey hardcore pioneers Lifetime will release their first studio album in more than 10 years on February 26 through Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's Decaydance/ Fueled by Ramen label. The self-titled outing will boast 11 tracks in all, but no song titles have been revealed yet. Lifetime plan to spend much of next year on the road touring in support of the disc. ... Influential Delta blues musician Robert Lockwood Jr. died Tuesday of respiratory failure in Cleveland. The Grammy-nominated singer/guitarist and W.C. Handy Award winner was 91.

• Beyoncé
• U2
• The Rolling Stones
• The Beatles
• Black Sabbath

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington at the KROQ Weenie Roast on Saturday
Photo: MTV News

IRVINE, California — For people itching to hear some of this summer's most anticipated new music, the place to be this weekend was Saturday's KROQ-FM Weenie Roast y Fiesta, where the lineup was stacked with bands on the verge of releasing long-awaited new material.

The day kicked off with the Plain White T's over on the second stage, a.k.a. "stage dos" in keeping with the day's Latin theme. The former You Hear It First pick was followed by fellow YHIF alums Silversun Pickups as well as Swedish whistlers Peter, Bjorn and John and Rancid's Tim Armstrong playing solo and delivering scorching riffs under an equally scorching sun. Not to worry, though — there were free sombreros in the Fiesta Village, a place for concertgoers could snack, buy merch and cool off.

As things wound down on stage dos, KROQ darlings Tiger Army took the main stage (no witty Spanish title here). The psychobilly band's "Forever Fades Away" is the current most-requested and most-played song on the L.A. rock station, and the Bay Area trio powered through that and other tracks off their upcoming Music From Regions Beyond, due June 5.

(Check out photos of Tiger Army, Linkin Park, Korn and more from Saturday's show.)

Once their set ended, the revolving stage made the first of many 180 degree turns, revealing a plugged-in and ready to go Bravery, who also had new music to share. Although the crowd was still filing into the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, the very danceable "Public Service Announcement" inspired a fiesta mood. The band followed with the new single "Time Won't Let Me Go," which hits stores Tuesday on the Bravery's new album, The Sun and the Moon.

Next up were 30 Seconds to Mars, who are no strangers to KROQ's music fests, having played KROQ's Inland Invasion show just last year. "It's weird to think that we are veterans of the KROQ shows now, because I was remembering actually sneaking backstage [at a Weenie Roast] to try and watch a band from the side of the stage a number of years ago," frontman Jared Leto recalled.

When the stage spun around for 30 Seconds to Mars' set, the audience instead found a group of folk dancers showing off traditional Latin American moves and fashions. Soon, however, Leto hit the stage ... wearing a sombrero. Always one to put on a spectacle, he also made his way deep into the crowd — twice — even singing closing number "The Kill" as he made his way up to the cheap seats.

(See Jared Leto talk about 30 Seconds to Mars being Weenie Roast "veterans.")

With the crowd now suitably amped, one of the most anticipated bands of the day, Bad Religion, made its way onstage as Linkin Park's Chester Bennington and other artists took a side-stage vantage point to watch. Among their catalog of hits, the Bad boys treated the fiesta-goers to the new single "Honest Goodbye," off July 10's New Maps of Hell. Scoring points for timeliness, the band also cranked out "Los Angeles Is Burning," calling to mind the actual L.A. wildfires from earlier this month.

While Queens of the Stone Age kept Bad Religion's energy going onstage — with new material as well, including the fresh single "Sick, Sick, Sick" — the party was really starting backstage. Those lucky enough to score backstage passes enjoyed a bar, "Guitar Hero" (appropriate, since three bands on the day's bill have songs in the game), and general people/hipster watching/ogling. Both Leto and MySpace phenomenon Tila Tequila made for popular backstage photo ops.

Following an all too sunny set by Interpol (another band stuffing CD racks on July 10) that was cut short due to equipment problems, the revolving stage spun around to reveal a surprise performance that at first caused more head-scratching than high-fiving. A 14-member a cappella group in tuxedos was putting its unique spin on Incubus' "Dig." Confusion turned to screams, however, when Incubus' Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger walked out a minute later to join in.

While the Killers had been scheduled to appear in that slot, last-minute health problems sidelined frontman Brandon Flowers. "There was another band with a lead singer named Brandon and he got sick," Boyd jokingly told MTV News. "I know what that's like, and it sucks, so they called another band with a singer named Brandon because that's kind of the theme they were going for." The power of YouTube connected Incubus and the singing group, called Ithacapella, after Boyd saw an online clip of their version of "Dig."

The last time the next band had an album out, YouTube was barely a dream. But Orange County's own Social Distortion did what they do best, playing the favorites that will appear on their greatest-hits album due June 26, complete with the new track "Far Behind."

(See Incubus' Brandon Boyd talk about the male choir that opened the band's set.)

The crowd instantly recognized the next act within the first few riffs of its opening number, going into a frenzy that lasted throughout the entire heart-pounding set. Singer Jonathan Davis even prompted a rarely seen over-the-head hand clap from a SoCal audience for the entirety of "Got the Life." New material came in the form of "Evolution," from July 31's still-untitled new album (see "Korn Are Cracking Up Over Eighth LP's 'Gothic Feel,' Munky Says").

Davis was clearly beaming backstage after the performance, which was the band's first full gig with some new members. "It was pretty much a coming-out show in the new lineup because we got [guitarist] Clint [Lowery] from Sevendust and we got [percussionist] Joey [Jordison] from Slipknot up playing with us and it's a different Korn," he said. "It sounds insane — the drums are insane, everything going on is completely different. So after tonight I think we're really, really stoked."

(See Jonathan Davis talk about Korn's "insane" set.)

Closing out the evening were locals Linkin Park. "We ... grew up listening to KROQ, and I remember coming here last year just as a fan of the show and walking around seeing the different bands," guitarist Brad Delson said backstage, "so not only to be playing it this year but to be headlining is a huge honor."

(See Brad Delson talk about Linkin Park's set.)

As the band kicked things off with "One Step Closer," the crowd showed it still had plenty energy left to cheer, sing and mosh to the most anticipated act of the day's bill. Fans hadn't forgotten any of the old songs, singing along during "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong," among others, but they showed the same amount of enthusiasm for new tracks off the just-released Minutes to Midnight.

When Linkin Park were done, though, and the last note had finally faded away, concertgoers were confronted with something not at all new to them: an enormous traffic headache as some 16,000 people all left the same parking lot at once. Aye-yi-yi!

For more sights and stories from concerts around the country, check out MTV News Tour Reports.

• Linkin Park, Korn, Incubus, More At Weenie Roast '07

• Linkin Park
• Korn
• Incubus
• 30 Seconds To Mars
• Bad Religion

Pearl Jam, Amy Winehouse, Lupe Fiasco, M.I.A., More At Lollapalooza 2007

• Pearl Jam
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MTV.com Exclusive: Interpol

• Interpol

Linkin Park, Korn, Incubus, More At Weenie Roast '07

• Linkin Park
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MTV.com Exclusive: Coachella '07

• Amy Winehouse
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Foos, Audioslave, Interpol, Killers Play Weenie Roast 2005

• Transplants
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MTV.com Exclusive: Interpol Photos 10.06.2004

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Interpol Photos 09.2004

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Interpol Live at Roseland Ballroom In NYC, October 21, 2003

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2003 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

• Beastie Boys
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