Joan Jett and the Blackhearts front man used to play in grimy clubs in Los Angeles with the Runaways back in 1975. Since she started out with her music, she has probably never imagined she would ever play in front of a crowd like the one that convened at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom last Thursday.
The loyal fans of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts through the years paid as much as $10,000 per head in order to be part of the 6th Annual Little Kids Rock Benefit, which featured tributes to the legends of femme-rock, such as Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
Of course, Jett was also there, as she performed with the night's various artists. She was also present to accept the Rocker of the Year Award that was prepared for her by the organization.
Little Kids Rock, an organization that gives musical instruments to low-income public school students all throughout the country for absolutely free, was able to raise around $1.5 million by the end of the benefit.
The money earned by the event that Joan Jett and the Blackhearts attended went toward a very good cause and also allowed its guests to sit in on a night of classic and relatively unusual performances, as curated by Steven Van Zandt, E Street Band member and noted Little Kids Rock beneficiary, and Jett herself.
Jett was supported by her own bandmates, as well as the other guest musicians who were there at the event. They all provided their own interpretations of the music icon's tunes.
Cheap Trick started the show with a scorching rendition of "I Hate Myself for Loving You," and then gave the stage to a series of less-distinctive performers, namely, Darlene Love, Brody Dalle, and Gary US Bonds.
Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill had a lackluster duet with her husband and Beastie Boy Ad-Rock on "Fake Friends" but they had a perfect exhibition of the night's theme, which was "Joan as mentor and rock 'n roll elder."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
