Les Paul in 1941
Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Reaction to the death of music icon Les Paul came pouring in Thursday (August 13), just hours after news broke that the electric-guitar pioneer had died at age 94 of complications from pneumonia.

Paul, who helped revolutionize the electric guitar and musical recording technology with his innovations of multi-track recording and overdubbing, was a hero to several generations of guitar slingers and a number weighed in with their tributes to the "Wizard of Waukesha."

One of the most celebrated guitarists of the 1990s, former Guns N' Roses thrasher Slash, paid loving homage to Paul, who he praised as an inspiration. "Les Paul was a shining example of how full one's life can be. He was so vibrant and full of positive energy," said Slash, who has his own signature line of Slash Les Paul Goldtop guitars. "I'm honored and humbled to have known and played with him over the years. He was an exceptionally brilliant man."

Another modern guitar giant, Joe Satriani, bowed at the altar of Paul, saying in a statement, "Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed. He was the original guitar hero and the kindest of souls. Last October, I joined him onstage at the Iridium club in NYC, and he was still shredding. He was and still is an inspiration to us all."

	Who's Playing A Les Paul Guitar?

One of Paul's most vocal and enthusiastic acolytes, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, said he couldn't imagine what rock music would sound like without his mentor's inventions and spirit. "Les Paul brought six strings to electricity and electricity to six strings," Gibbons said in a statement. "Les Paul was an innovator, a groundbreaker, a risk taker, a mentor and a friend. Try to imagine what we'd be doing if he hadn't come along and changed the world. There will always be more Les to come. That's certified."

With her low-slung Les Paul and a snarling punk attitude, Joan Jett got sentimental about how much she'd miss Paul's influence. "I, and everyone at Blackheart Records, mourn the passing of our dear friend, Les Paul," Jett wrote. "He was a genius inventor, musical innovator and a wonderful person. Without the advances he pioneered, the recording sciences and the electric guitar would have been left years behind. I will miss him so much."

Blues master Keb Mo gave Paul props for being a vibrant musician well into his 90s. "He's a guy who played right up to the end," Mo said. "That's what we all want to do!!"

Neil Portnow, president/CEO of the Recording Academy, added in a statement, "Three-time Grammy winner Les Paul was a musical mastermind whose innovations in electric guitar and recorded music are unparalleled. A 1983 Trustees Award recipient and a 2001 Technical Grammy Award recipient, his career and contributions to popular music will forever be celebrated and will continue to influence future generations of musicians. His magnetic charm and sunny disposition matched his incredible skill set, and he will always be remembered with great fondness, humility and respect. The music industry has lost a true innovator and legend."

• Who's Playing A Les Paul Guitar?

• Les Paul
• Joan Jett

Joan Jett and Kristen Stewart leave Sunset Sound studios on Monday
Photo: Splash News

Not only has Kristen Stewart embraced the role of Joan Jett by dying her hair black and cutting it into a mullet for her role in the upcoming film "The Runaways," now she's been spotted at a Los Angeles studio with Runaways founding member Joan Jett.

The duo — along with Stewart's "New Moon"/ "Runaways" castmate Dakota Fanning — hit Sunset Sound studios on Monday, where they were recording for the biopic, about the seminal all-teen-female 1970s rock band of the same name. While the Runaways, founded by Jett in 1975, never achieved large-scale commercial success, they were a galvanizing force on the Los Angeles punk scene, not to mention the first widely recognized all-female teen rock group and the spawning ground for the subsequent solo careers of Jett and guitarist Lita Ford.

Stewart, who was rocking a black hoodie, straight-legged jeans and sunglasses, met up with Jett, who was in a similar outfit, but wearing a leather jacket instead of a hoodie.

This isn't the first time the two have hung out. Back in March she told MTV News that the two were already on their way to becoming fast friends. "I've been listening to [Jett's] music all the time; I spent New Year's with her," she said. "I am just trying to make myself aware of the time period and what she was going through."

Adding that the role has the "most immense responsibilities," she said the movie allows her to tell "an incredibly triumphant feminist story, really. She is an incredibly distinct personality, and so many people love and admire her, and so many people know her as just being one of the coolest people ever to live — and that, in itself, has been one of the most intimidating things that I have ever had to confront."

Check out everything we've got on "The Runaways."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• Kristen Stewart And Joan Jett Hit The Studio

• Joan Jett
• The Runaways

Kristen Stewart
Photo: James Devaney/ WireImage

Kristen Stewart is officially a star. Fresh off her well-received turn as Bella Swan in the smash hit "Twilight," she's taking on a daunting role: playing Joan Jett in a biopic produced by the rock legend herself and directed by music-video helmer Floria Sigismondi.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stewart will star in "The Runaways," which will chronicle the rise and fall of the first successful all-girl hard-rock band. Their lineup included guitarists Jett and Lita Ford, drummer Sandy West and singer/keyboardist Cherie Currie; Micki Steele and Jackie Fox were the most prominent of their rotation cast of bassists. The band was initially seen as a novelty act, something that could be easily marketed as "jailbait on the run" dressed in leather and lingerie. However, the girls were all serious and skilled musicians who made their mark on the punk-rock scene and became hugely influential. (Who were the Runaways, and why would anyone make a movie about them? Find out here.)

The band came together in 1975 and lasted for about four years, adding and losing members, and eventually falling apart due to disagreements over money and management issues. Jett and Ford went on to enjoy highly successful solo careers, while Steele joined the Bangles.

"The Runaways" will follow Jett and Currie, from the teenage group's rapid rise to their disillusionment and decision to disband. The film is expected to begin shooting in early 2009 and will work around Stewart's commitment to "New Moon," the "Twilight" sequel that also plans to shoot early next year.

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

• What Are 'Twilight' Stars Looking Forward To In 'New Moon'?

• Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner And More At The "Twilight" Premiere

• Joan Jett
• The Runaways

Flavor Flav performs at SXSW on Friday
Photo: John Shearer/ Wire Image

AUSTIN, Texas — Every March, the music industry throws on a pair of shorts, slathers on the SPF 45 and heads on down to Austin for South by Southwest, a weeklong celebration of bands, BBQ and (sometimes free!) beer. It's a brutal bacchanal and music marathon powered by thousands of acts playing in hundreds of venues — at all hours — plus an unreal number of open bar tabs and fancy private parties.

Sleep is not exactly a top priority, so MTV News has dispatched three of its most tireless reporters into the fray. They'll be filing reports a few times each day (scroll down for the evening report), which will chiefly serve as a way of keeping you up to speed about what's going on deep in the heart of Texas, but also double as a convenient way — for us, anyway — of making sure everyone's still alive.

The Day

James Montgomery, MTV News writer: Another afternoon, another 36 Kool-Aid-colored wristbands to weigh down my wrists. At every day party I attend, my wrist gets slapped with a brightly colored piece of plastic (or, as is the case at the Levi's/Fader fort, two pieces), which — in theory — are supposed to keep the unwashed masses from gate-crashing and allow me preferred access to VIP areas and/or free booze. But the only thing they're really good for is snagging on clothing and making me look like this guy.

I know, I know ... cry me a river. But after only three days at SXSW, I'm totally starting to feel the inner Andy Rooney in me come to life (and he loves Robyn Hitchcock). Maybe it's the fact that every dude here is wearing a tank top, or the fact that every girl looks she's Karen O's stunt double. Who knows? ...

OK ... deep breath. Spent the afternoon at the SPIN party, where there was free popcorn, free ice cream, free cigarettes and, of course, more free wristbands! There was also a middling set from New Orleans funk act Galactic featuring cameos by a who's who of rappers that no one cares about (Lyrics Born, the Coup's Boots Reilly), a Kirsten Dunst sighting and a truly awesome early evening performance from the Kings of Leon, who rock nearly as hard as their pants are tight (and that's very).

Off now to get some dinner ... then hopefully catch a sweaty, late-night set from Girl Talk. Oh, also, my buddy in Beirut just invited me on a four-hour "BBQ excursion" set for Saturday afternoon. Wristbands or no, things are lookin' up, indeed!

John Norris, MTV News correspondent: By and large, the consensus in the local media and among people I have talked to seems to be that while the significance of SXSW has changed — I mean, we all know where music is "broken" in 2007, and it ain't at one gig at one festival — the festival still plays a vital role. As a one-stop shop for those who don't have bands rolling through their town every week, and for artists to get their music seen and heard by those in and out of the mainstream biz.

Among the bands, at varying levels of notoriety, that have introduced themselves to me on the streets of Austin and gotten their music into my hands in the past couple of days: Aloke, the GoStation, Locksley, New Year's Day, the Animators, the Stock Market Crash and some pretty cool garage girls from Atlanta who go by the lovely name the Coathangers (who count in their arsenal a fairly demure jam called "Nestle in My Boobies").

Finally, I have been avoiding going on a vegan rant for the last few days and just sucked it up and dealt with foraging around town to find non-animal-product dining. When in Rome ... yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sure as hell not gonna start eating flesh slathered in barbecue sauce, that's for sure. I'm often in situations like this — it means repeated trips to Asian places, which at least know what tofu is — so I've been twice to P.F. Chang's and once to Veggie Heaven. But then you slip and eat cheese sometimes. At last year's SXSW, even Chrissie Hynde — as much an icon of animal rights as a goddess of rock — told me she occasionally will eat cheese and she's been vegan for more than 30 years. Really, I love longhorns. To look at. Or pet. Not to eat, sit on or wear. End of screed.

Gil Kaufman, MTV News writer: I'm going to announce a moratorium on the bad-name thing, though Chicago's Flosstradamus get an honorable mention. Let me just say this now: If Australia's Youth Group don't become the next U2, something is seriously amiss. These guys have the kind of swaying, epic songs — like "Shadowland" — that fill up a dingy daytime bar show and make it feel like a stadium.

The pressure to melt down in public for new hot messes like Amy Winehouse must be intense, but it doesn't seem to be slowing down the hottest mess on everyone's tongue this week, Atlanta's notorious Black Lips. More than six years into their career, the band still knows how to shock, or revolt, as when guitarist Cole Alexander lost his lunch mid-solo just two songs into the band's set. Pro that he is, he never missed a lick, though the crowd did take a step back.

Note to the dude walking down the street with earplugs in: Bro, yeah, it's loud in the venues sometimes, but you can take them out on the way to lunch.

One of the reasons rock stars love South By (that's what the cool kids call it, for real) is they can just blend in, because every hipster doofus worth his salt has rats-nest hair, too-tight jeans and an expensive-looking ripped shirt. So, if you walk down the street and see Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore hanging on the corner, or Joan Jett waiting for a cab outside your hotel, yeah, it's them.

Speaking of which, I was on the phone in the elevator and I see a guy walk in with a huge clock around his neck and a bunch of dookie chains and my first thought is, "What kind of a bozo thinks he can cop that look from Flavor Flav in 2007?" Oh, my bad, it was Flavor Flav! We chatted, I wished him luck on his show Friday night (March 16) and when the doors opened, he gave me a knuckle pound and zoomed out into the lobby on his wheelies.

Here's what I missed today but heard about from people who were better line-jumpers than me: Pete Townshend jamming on "The Seeker" with the Fratellis, and Vietnam — or "those dudes with the giant beards," as one patron described them.

The Evening

James Montgomery: If you like slightly tubby guys with super scraggly beards, rare, out-of-print Boredoms 7-inches and uttering the phrase "They're still playing the same song?!" then the Ecstatic Peace Records and Tapes showcase was the place to be Friday night. Owned and operated by Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore, Ecstatic Peace releases records (actual records; like, on vinyl and everything) by a whole lot of erudite, experimental bands that you've never heard of, many of which — including the ethereal Gown, the drone-y Black Helicopter and the unpronounceable Charalambides — were on display tonight.

Of course, doe-eyed dreamboat Michael Pitt's little grunge outfit, Pagoda was there too, but I spotted John digging them pretty hard, so I'll leave it to him to document their set. Needless to say, it didn't take me long to get my fill of avant instrumentalism, and I was quickly out the door. But not before snagging a copy of the free Ecstatic Peace 'zine for my reading leisure. Thanks, Thurston!

Then it was off to Stubb's, where a little of the old "I'm with MTV News ... my camera crew is inside, and I need to get to them now!" routine (note: professional!) got me to the front of the line and into the much-hyped gig by Damon Albarn's new project, the Good, the Bad and the Queen. I'd been hearing a lot about how the whole thing was some sort of semi-conceptual play, a sort of time-skipping portrayal of life in London throughout the 20th Century, and I was anxious to check it out myself.

Sadly, all I got out of the performance a whole lot of former Clash bassist Paul Simonon's booming, bubbly low-end (I mean, seriously, dude was loud) and a few pictures of Albarn in a top hat. Playing on a stage littered with streamers and Union Jacks, in front of an impressionistic portrait of London, the atmosphere was right, but the music — all percolating, dubby basslines and three-quarter-speed guitars — wasn't. Truth be told, the whole thing was a complete snoozer. And if it was come sort of concept, I wasn't getting it. Maybe, on this night, I just wasn't smart enough for any of it. Not sleeping and existing solely on ribs and cigarettes tends to do that to a person.

John Norris: While I didn't stick around at Stubb's long enough to check out the Good, the Bad and the Queen, there was still plenty of the Snide, the grungy and the unexpected to go around.

Began my travels at Buffalo Billiards, where you rack 'em up downstairs and upstairs you hear music — cool music on this night, in the form of Nashville's Clem Snide, the band fronted and really embodied by one of the dryer, wittier guys in indie music, Eef Barzelay. He led his two backing players through a 40-minute set full of Clem Snide's trademark tunes that build and build ... and suddenly end. Eef's sarcasm was in abundance as well, in songs like "Girls Don't Care" and in his between-song patter, like when he told the SXSW crowd "You quench me. Your applause is like calamine lotion on my mosquito-bitten skin." Oh and he even busted out a bit of Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable."

Three encounters making my way down a packed 6th Street: former MTV VJ and walking musical encyclopedia Matt Pinfield, shooting a show for DirectTV; my old pals Taylor and Zack Hanson, being interviewed for another video outlet; and Damaris Drummond, a performance artist who is planning to cover herself with vintage Atari joysticks on Saturday and ask people to choose one to play with. Where in Austin will this happen? "Wherever they will let me," says Damaris. I am not kidding.

Nor am I kidding when I say that Michael Pitt rocks. Pitt may be the easy-on-the-eyes actor who starred in "The Dreamers" and "Last Days," but he has apparently put acting on the backburner indefinitely to concentrate on his neo-grunge band Pagoda, who played outdoors at the Mohawk. With Pitt on guitar and wailing vocals (playing a Cobain-like character has clearly had an impact on him), plus bass, drums and cello (!) the band ripped through one impassioned song after another, and you might have thought it was 1993 all over again. Only one beef though: say something, dude. I get it, you want to downplay the "movie star as frontman" thing; who wouldn't? But apart from "Thanks Thurston" and "This is our last song," Pitt was totally mute ... and he tended to overdo the whole back-to-the-crowd thing. Mike — you can play guitar, you can sing and scream, your band is good. Lighten up.

Plenty light and comfortable is Mancunian troubadour Damon Gough, a.k.a. Badly Drawn Boy. Although large open-air Stubb's may not have been the best setting for his sound, Gough lit up the night with his peppy alt pop, including the winning title track from his most recent release, Born in the U.K. Plus, he's a dead ringer for my MTV News buddy Aaron Pinkston, who was watching the show with me. There could be a sitcom in here. Couple of bearded, longhaired, beanie-wearing dudes from opposite sides of the Atlantic. It could work ...

Gil Kaufman: If there's anyone who loves the Ramones more than me, it's Japanese punk bands. Which is why the Japan Night showcase is always at the top of my list. This year was no disappointment, with a killer set from Osaka's The50Kaitenz, a power trio who rocked a blistering set of Ramones-inspired rockabilly while wearing matching black suits with Colonel Sanders-style black string ties. They were followed by the equally off-the-charts Pistol Valve, a 10-woman collective with eight horn players, an electric violinist and DJ, all combining forces (like Voltron!) to create a truly unique brand of Afro-Cuban-funk-jazz-hip-hop-a--go-go, all while wearing fedoras and varying stages of lingerie.

After flashing my badge, dropping some names, pretending to call my nonexistent cameraman and using every slimy excuse I could think of to jump in front of the two-block long line, I finally got in to see hot not-mess Brazilian funk carioca trio Bonde do Role. The group — really just two MC's and a DJ — mash up party-ready Bailefunk rhythms with hip-hop and samples that range from classic rock to Brazilian dance and snatches of the "Grease" soundtrack, and they had the packed house bouncing off the walls. They got even the most jaded hipsters to throw down.

Can James snag himself a nap? Are there more Beyoncé covers in John's future? Will Gil's line-cutting come back to haunt him? Check back all weekend for our SXSW coverage!

Earlier this week:

· "Tom Morello's SXSW Gig Turns Into Raucous All-Star Jam With Slash, Perry Farrell"

· "Amy Winehouse Raises Eyebrows, Bloc Party Draw A Mob As SXSW Wakes Up"

· "Pete Wentz Clones Descend, Lily Allen Warbles As SXSW Gets Under Way"

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

[This story was originally published on 3.16.2007 at 8:45 p.m.]

• Five Coolest Things At SXSW 2007
• Morello Jams With Slash, Farrell At SXSW

• Kings Of Leon, Mastodon, Flava Flav, More Rock SXSW '07

• Flavor Flav
• Lyrics Born
• Galactic
• Kings Of Leon
• Beirut

Eagles of Death Metal's Jesse Hughes
Photo: Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images

It's a Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles, and Eagles of Death Metal frontman Jesse "The Devil" Hughes is riding down Hollywood Boulevard on his way to the dentist ("I'm scared," he explained, "because I have serious Irish teeth, which is one step away from English teeth"). He's got the windows of his car rolled down, and he's bumping Britney Spears' "Toxic."

"Isn't it one of the greatest songs you've ever heard?" he asked, adding that the sight of someone like him blasting Britney is "probably an interesting thing to see." He's discussing the treatment for his band's next video — for the track "I Gotta Feeling (Just Nineteen)" — which will be filming in Hollywood this week. Hughes wonders aloud when Spears will be making a video of her own, because frankly, the man misses the pop star's sultry clips.

"Britney Spears videos rock, and I don't care how much she's singing or not singing, writing or not writing — I just want to see that girl make a comeback and make more videos," he explained, issuing an interesting proposition: "Britney, please let me help you, girl. I will do whatever you need to help you make that comeback."

Britney isn't likely to take him up on his offer, and that's fine. The Devil's got quite a bit on his plate these days, beyond the mustache maintenance that always takes up a large bulk of his time. The Eagles of Death Metal will issue their first DVD, called "DVD by Sexy," on Tuesday (October 10), and two days later they kick off their U.S. trek with Joan Jett in Philadelphia. There's the video shoot too, and the Eagles will tape a commercial for Microsoft's new portable media player, Zune.

The video for "I Gotta Feeling," Hughes said, is "going to be the greatest video ever made. The vision [Queens of the Stone Age frontman and Eagles accomplice Josh Homme] and myself are working with right now is us cruising the streets, interacting with people and inspiring them to dance and have fun, like some neo-biker '60s faction that runs the show."

Of course, the clip — much like the one for "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)," the first single from the band's 2006 studio LP, Death by Sexy (see "Eagles Of Death Metal Frontman's 'Soft Boomerang Of Love' Takes Center Stage In Clip") — will feature tons of smokin'-hot babes.

"That's the gig, really," he reasoned. "It's fine and dandy to have cool songs and have a cool style, but unless you have t--s and ass, ain't nobody gonna give a sh-- about your video. We want to steal an idea from the Flock of Seagulls video for 'I Ran,' where they're all in that rotating circle with the mirrors. We want to cop that for some cutaway scenes, because that looks cool."

Comely females will also play a significant role in the Zune commercial, which should begin airing later in the fall. Hughes said the finished ad is going to depict a car loaded with lovelies racing toward a venue where the band is performing. Hughes couldn't provide additional details, but he hopes there will be lots of close-ups of his thick 'stache.

The band's top priority now, though, is the impending release of "DVD by Sexy," which was compiled from footage captured by director and musician Liam Lynch — who helmed the forthcoming film "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny" — over the eight days it took for the EODM to record Death by Sexy at L.A.'s Sound City Studios (see "Eagles Of Death Metal Singer Expects 'Bikini Girls Every Night' When LP Drops" and "Eagles Of Death Metal Frontman Gushes About 'Amazingly Sexy' LP, Own Moustache").

"We didn't want to make a DVD, but Liam was like, 'Dude, I have to film what's going on here,' " Hughes said. "The DVD's about a band making an album, but it's also about two best friends [Hughes and Homme] having the time of their lives. There's some behind-the-scenes sh-- that's intense, because the day we started recording was the day my ex-wife took me back to court, and I began a year-and-a-half-long custody battle that almost killed me and put me in rehab. The studio became the only place where I could escape all that sh--."

The Eagles slept very little during those eight days, and Lynch captured all of the insanity of the sessions on a handful of cameras — some of which he'd hidden throughout the studio without the band's knowledge. "To accomplish an approximation of the reality of the situation, we also had to add animated characters to the footage," Hughes said. Several sequences feature animated flowers, fuzzy bunnies and dancing bananas Homme beats and bullies around.

"And you actually can feel the tickling of the hairs of my mustache on your body as you watch it," Hughes added. "It's a virtual mustache ride, via the television."

The DVD also includes a never-before-seen video for the track "Solid Gold," which was directed by Lynch and depicts Hughes "in an animated city of gold, cruising around in a gold car and lifting weights." Hughes' favorite part of the DVD is a segment during which the band rags on him for his obsession with Rollerblading.

The outing boasts all of the band's videos, as well as performance footage captured at several of the EODM's recent gigs — which, of course, Hughes considers the best in all of rock and roll.

• Eagles Of Death Metal
• Joan Jett

The Casualties' Jorge performs in Cincinnati on Wednesday
Photo: MTV News

CINCINNATI — The Warped Tour ought to consider hooking up with Baskin-Robbins as a sponsor next year. Because when the 12th edition of the longest-running U.S. summer festival touched down at the Riverbend Music Center on Wednesday, it served up 36 flavors — approximately 30 of which were variations of the punk taste of the past few years: emo.

With few exceptions, angsty, tattooed white boys with a lot to scream about ruled the day for the 11,000-plus fans who wandered among the eight stages and endless collection of band merch and sponsor booths. The exceptions were goth punks AFI, who drew the day's biggest crowd with their dramatic dinnertime set, and old-schooler Joan Jett, who provided one of the few true cross-generational bonding moments for the many families in attendance.

(Click for photos from the Cincinnati stop on this year's Warped Tour.)

Unlike last year, when breaking bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold drew big crowds and lots of hype (see "My Chemical Romance And A Very Stiff Chicken Rock Milwaukee Warped Tour Stop"), three-quarters into this summer's dates, Warped attendance is down slightly, according to tour founder Kevin Lyman. Still, he said Warped '06 is on track to an expected total draw of approximately 600,000.

With fewer mainstream bands on the bill, Lyman says he feels fine about the lower attendance figures. And judging by the crowds that lesser-known acts like Cartel and Emery drew to some of the smaller side stages, it was clear that rabid fans will turn up for their favorite bands no matter which stage they're on. Whatever the final numbers, Lyman, who brandished the top-secret '07 roster (albeit at a safe distance), is certain that Warped will be back next year.

Nearly every strain of emo was on display in the scorching 90-degree heat over the course of the nine-hour marathon: screamo with two lead singers and one guitarist (Marilyn Avenue); screamo with one singer and two guitarists (Classic Crime); screamo with a metal edge (Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, the Bled); goth-tinged screamo with scary pancake and scar makeup (Aiden); classic-rock-inspired emo (the Sunstreak); the three guitarists/ two backup screamers variety (Vaux); the Coheed and Cambria-type (the Junior Varsity); and straight-up, classic emo (Thursday, Emanuel).

Some bands added signature metal touches: Every Time I Die weren't afraid to do some athletic spin kicks, whip their heads around and show off their Kiss-style unison guitar-swinging. Warped veterans Valient Thorr brought Motörhead-style metal thunder to their set, with some hammer-swinging Nordic jams that rocked way too hard for 1 p.m. The only hip-hop act on the bill, Gym Class Heroes, moved the crowd with a combination of live instruments and the head-bobbing ode to MySpace addiction, "New Friend Request."

Then there were political rockers Anti-Flag, who staged a fist-pumping mini-rally against oppressive governments, sexism and lots of other isms through subtle message songs like "F--- Police Brutality." Sets by Saves the Day and Motion City Soundtrack had a more pop-punk feel, with plenty of chant-along choruses and a lighter touch than some of the day's more tortured acts.

Sweden's the Sounds — one of the few female-fronted acts — brought a bit of class to the proceedings thanks to singer Maja Ivarsson's black heels and clingy cocktail dress. The formal wear was just a front for an unhinged stage persona that paid serious homage to late punk priestess Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics, right down to the partly shorn blond hairdo and a few unladylike glimpses of her panties during some deep knee bends. As a bonus, the Sounds were one of the few bands at Warped to bust out the cowbell, which they did proudly during the catchy "Song With a Mission."

Though they had the day's most iridescent hairdos, there was nothing elegant about hardcore punk survivors the Casualties. The New York kings of the Day-Glo Mohawk tore through a set that included the tough-as-nails punk ballad "Punk Rock Love" and their tribute to the three deceased members of the Ramones, "Made in NYC." Their set also inspired the day's biggest circle pit, a 50-foot-wide swirl of bodies that tore around the sound booth. The crowd was less juiced up by the Pink Spiders, who, between their pink spandex pants and fingerless gloves, seemed to confuse some of the kids with their Ramones-meets-Loverboy sound and look.

Though she didn't draw a huge crowd, old-schooler Joan Jett was the sentimental favorite of the day and the unofficial cell-phone champ, as half of her crowd held their cellies aloft during her set. Lyman says he invited her along as a lesson to the rest of the bands on the tour about the history of punk rock. Jett and her Blackhearts delivered a tight, half-hour set of classics, including "I Love Rock N' Roll," "Crimson and Clover," "Do You Wanna Touch Me" and her latest hit cover, Sweet's "ACDC" (see "Warped Tour Nabs Trailblazing Rocker Joan Jett For Trek").

Jett, who started out as a member of the jailbait all-girl punk group the Runaways as a teenager in 1976, has never forgotten the first rule of punk: The chorus needs to be easily chantable (think "whoa-whoa-whoa" or "yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah") and the guitars need to rip like buzz saws.

Doug Pyle, 21, drove up from Knoxville, Tennessee, to attend his third Warped Tour show, and he admitted to not really being into all the emo bands on the bill. The heavily pierced, Mohawk-sporting Pyle, clad in a Rancid T-shirt, was on the same page as Dayton, Ohio's John Fritz, 24, who lamented the emo overload and tagged Jett and the Casualties as his favorites of the day. "Man, she's still really hot!" Fritz said of the lean, ripped Jett.

Theatrical California goths AFI rambled from punk to goth and electronica without losing a step. After a day of blazing temperatures, nature seemed to feel the heaviness of singer Davey Havok's inner vampire, as gray clouds rolled in to block the sun during the band's set. Havok, a bilevel-haircut-sporting dude in distress, waved his tattooed arms and threw off panicky jazz-hand gestures while screaming and thrashing around during the Depeche Mode-like gothtronica tunes "Love Like Winter" and "Silver and Cold."

Thanking Ohio natives Devo and the Dead Boys, Havok tore into the band's current hit single, "Miss Murder." The crowd re-created the video's fist-pumping rally theme, bringing what looked like a momentary smile to Havok's pale face (see "AFI Blow Kisses, Play Gothic Bumper Cars At Dramatic NYC Show").

At an intense fest full of throat-scraping screams, karate-kicking guitarists and microphone-cord tourniquets, it was the message on a simple black T-shirt worn by an emo-looking dude that brought plenty of laughs to passersby during the day's otherwise heavy proceedings: "Girls pants are for girls."

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

• Pink Spiders, Gym Class Heroes And More At Warped Tour 2006

• AFI
• Joan Jett
• Underoath
• Pink Spiders
• The Casualties

Motion City Soundtrack's Tony Thaxton, Justin Pierre and Matthew Taylor
Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Last year, Warped Tour organizers caved under the massive weight of Internet postings from anxious fans and announced the tour's full itinerary in early February. But this year, things were different: They managed to hold off until the beginning of March.

On Thursday (March 2), Warped founder Kevin Lyman confirmed an itinerary obtained by MTV News, which lists dates and venues for 45 of the 49 cities the tour will hit this summer; it used to be 48 cities, but Lyman let it be known that Warped will now kick off on June 15 in Columbia, Maryland — and not on June 16 in Columbus, Ohio, as had previously been reported (see "Warped Tour Founder Vows To Press On Despite Being Punk'd").

"Yeah, we've added another city. Make sure people know about that," Lyman laughed. "We wanted to sort of roll this itinerary out a little bit at a time, but why not do it all now? I think people's enthusiasm about Warped speaks to just how amazing and strong our fanbase is."

The dates and cities for Warped 2006 — which includes Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday, Rise Against and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (see "Warped Tour Nabs Trailblazing Rocker Joan Jett For Trek") plus a host of others — had been announced last month, but with the addition of the venues, there's finally a proper itinerary for the tour.

Lyman (who's currently on the road with his other tour, Taste of Chaos), said that he's close to finalizing an on-sale date for Warped '06, and he'll be making that announcement in the coming weeks.

The dates for Warped Tour 2006, according to event organizers:

• 6/15 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
• 6/16 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre
• 6/17 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
• 6/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Metrodome
• 6/19 - Kansas City, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 6/21 - Antioch, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre
• 6/22 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jacksonville Fairgrounds
• 6/23 - St. Petersburg, FL @ Vinoy Park
• 6/24 - Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
• 6/25 - Orlando, FL @ Tinker Field
• 6/27 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltell Pavilion
• 6/28 - Atlanta, GA @ HiFi Buys Amphitheater Lot
• 6/30 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Center
• 7/1 - Dallas, TX @ TBA
• 7/2 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/3 - Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U Practice Field
• 7/5 - Phoenix, AZ @ TBA
• 7/6 - San Diego, CA @ Coors Amphitheatre
• 7/7 - Pomona, CA @ Fairplex Park
• 7/8 - San Francisco, CA @ Pier 30/32
• 7/9 - Ventura, CA @ TBA
• 7/11 - Fresno, CA @ SaveMart Center
• 7/12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Dodger Stadium Lot
• 7/13 - Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/14 - Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
• 7/15 - Seattle, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre
• 7/16 - Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
• 7/18 - Vancouver, BC @ Thunderbird Stadium
• 7/20 - Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
• 7/22 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah State Fairgrounds
• 7/23 - Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
• 7/25 - St. Louis, MO @ UMB Bank Pavilion
• 7/26 - Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
• 7/27 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion
• 7/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 7/29 - Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
• 7/30 - Chicago, IL @ Tweeter Center
• 8/1 - Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lakes Fields
• 8/2 - Brockton, MA @ TBA
• 8/3 - Scranton, PA @ Montage Mountain
• 8/4 - Philadelphia, PA @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
• 8/5 - New York, NY @ Randall's Island
• 8/6 - Old Bridge, NJ @ Englishtown Raceway
• 8/8 - Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 8/9 - Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot
• 8/10 - Washington, DC @ Nissan Pavilion Lot
• 8/11 - Cleveland, OH @ Tower City Amphitheatre
• 8/12 - Toronto, ON @ Park Place
• 8/13 - Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean-Drapeau

• Motion City Soundtrack
• Thursday
• Rise Against
• Joan Jett

Joan Jett
Photo: Getty Images/Scott Gries

Joan Jett has been punk rock almost since the day she was born.

When she was 15, she was prowling the stage as a guitarist and singer in the groundbreaking all-girl group the Runaways, playing a fast and loud hybrid of American heavy metal and British punk. By the time she was in her 20s, she had produced (GI), the landmark debut album by Los Angeles gutter-punks the Germs. And by her 25th birthday, she had assembled her own brash band, the Blackhearts, best known for their 1982 #1 hit "I Love Rock 'N Roll" — famously tackled by Britney Spears in her movie "Crossroads."

So it should come as no surprise that now, almost 30 years since her career first blasted off, she's decided to tackle the biggest punk-rock roadshow out there: the Warped Tour.

On Wednesday, Jett and the Blackhearts were added to the lineup for Warped '06, joining a bill that already includes such acts as Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday and Rise Against (see "Motion City Soundtrack, Thursday, NOFX Already On Board For Warped '06"). And for anyone worried that Jett and the 'Hearts — who released their debut album back in 1981 — might not be able to keep up with their much younger tourmates, well, as Warped founder Kevin Lyman put it, you don't know Joan Jett.

"Oh, I know she'll be fine. Joan grew up playing in bands that drove around in vans and worked hard," Lyman said. "She knows all about the grind. And she's tough. I bet she's tougher than a lot of these emo bands we get on the tour. I know she'll spend a lot less time on her tour bus playing video games than they do."

Jett isn't the first punk progenitor to play Warped, which kicks off June 16 in Columbus, Ohio. Billy Idol played a handful of dates on last year's tour (see "Warped Tour '05: Backstage At The Punk Rock Circus").

"Over the past few years, we've started to take a different direction with the tour. We've decided that we've got to have a bit of history on the tour, that we've got to show these kids where this music came from," Lyman said. "Joan is committed for the whole tour. She'll play every date, and she's also interested in talking to kids at each stop. She wants to talk to the girls who come out, who want to start bands. I mean, Joan was in a group when she was 15, so she can give these girls some great advice."

• Joan Jett

When the AIDS crisis first came to the fore back in the '80s, Madonna was one of the first celebrities to step up and loudly demand action. This week back in 1989, the pop diva turned up in Los Angeles at a charity dance marathon to benefit people suffering from AIDS, one of whom was a close friend of hers — Christopher Flynn, her first dance teacher and a very influential figure in her life.

"I'm really here for two reasons. Number one is because I really believe in AIDS Project L.A. and the services they have provided for people with AIDS and for the prevention education they support. And the second reason I'm here is because I love to dance."

And dance she did. Madonna danced and danced and danced for nearly an hour straight along with pal Sandra Bernhard and her longtime backup singer, Nikki Harris.

"They're here to make sure I don't perform too many nasty dance moves that Christopher Flynn is responsible for teaching me," she explained.

"I have to say thank you to [Christopher] because he's the man responsible for encouraging me to go after my dreams, to go to New York," she continued. "He taught me, I went to my first dance class with him. He's a great guy."

As a side note, Madonna's controversial video for "Like a Prayer" began airing on MTV that same week. MTV News' Kurt Loder described the clip this way at the time: "The video is loaded with baroque religious imagery and features Madonna cavorting in curious ways with a lot of black people. In short, it's a teeth-gnashing bonanza for bigots."

One woman who had no use for fufu videos was Joan Jett, whose uncompromising music made her a heroine on the hard rock circuit. Back in March of 1989, the down and dirty rocker went a little upscale when she and her band, the Blackhearts, brought their tour to a Broadway theater for a few nights. On that occasion, Jett weighed in on the state of rock and roll in the late '80s.

"So much of it's in the attitude, and today I just hear so many people, so many bands calling themselves rock and roll bands and realistically, they aren't," she said. "That's the thing that seems to be missing to me, is the real gut spontaneous rock and roll feeling." Amen.

Pop stardom isn't all video shoots and vast oceans of champagne, we learned from Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett back in '89.

For one thing, as Metallica had discovered, the bigger you get, the more people there are trying to scam free passes to your concerts.

"My mother called me up the other day and said, 'Well there's this CEO of the company I work for who wants to come to the concert in Baltimore,' " Hammett said. "And it's like, 'Fine mom, I'm putting him on the guest list.' "

And then when the show's over and you just want to go back your hotel and get a little sleep, some raucous pop star in the suite next door winds up keeping you awake all night.

"I saw Debbie Gibson here at the hotel," Hammett said, "and she had all this toilet paper out in the hallway. I was all, 'Wait a second, I thought heavy metal bands did stuff like that ...' "

For more "This Week In ...", check out the This Week In Archive

• Madonna
• Metallica
• Joan Jett

Bruce Springsteen
Photo: VH1

To date, many musicians and actors have donated time and talent to raise money for the thousands of people across the New York area who were affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center. Now, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are reaching out to assist their own community as well.

On Thursday and Friday, the performers will be joined by Joan Jett, Joe Ely, Phoebe Snow, E Street Band members Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg, Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore and others for the Alliance of Neighbors benefit concert at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. The concert will benefit the families of the more than 160 Monmouth County victims of the attacks, and during the first show's soundcheck, the venue will be open to the families of those who lost their lives.

The 1926 theater holds only 1,600 people, but the second concert will be televised on the Comcast network, which broadcasts to approximately 4 million homes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. During the broadcast, the bottom of the screen will display a toll-free number viewers can call to make donations. Tickets for the Alliance of Neighbors benefit went on sale a month ago for $500, $150 and $50.

Tallent originally organized the two four-hour concerts to benefit World Hunger Year, a New York organization that raises funds to fight hunger and poverty across the U.S. After the terrorist attacks, he and others on the planning committee decided to shift the event's focus.

Initially, the concerts were to commemorate the music of Sun Records, and while Elvis sidemen — Moore along with drummer D.J. Fontana and bassist Jerry Sheff — and Sun artists including Sonny Burgess will still play, Springsteen, Bon Jovi and others are expected to perform their own material, the event's publicist said.

For more information on and audience reaction to the attacks, including tips on how you can help, see "9.11.01: Moving Forward."

• Bon Jovi
• Bruce Springsteen
• Phoebe Snow
• Joan Jett
• Joe Ely

Meet Joan Jett's Proteges: Girl In A Coma

• Girl in a Coma
• Joan Jett

Kristen Stewart And Joan Jett Hit The Studio

• Joan Jett

Pink Spiders, Gym Class Heroes And More At Warped Tour 2006

• Rise Against
• Pink Spiders
• The Casualties
• Joan Jett
• Gym Class Heroes

Warped Tour 2006 Photos

• Bouncing Souls
• The Academy Is...
• Armor For Sleep
• The Buzzcocks
• Cartel