While Springsteen didn't step on the stage at Giants Stadium during the over two hour show, Bono did wish Bruce a happy birthday and swapped out "she" for "he" during the chorus of "She's the One." MTV News' Rachel Josue was at the show live and snagged a bit of video, so jam on "Mysterious Ways" while you get your belated birthday card together for Jersey's favorite son.

By Sabrina Rojas Weiss

Lady Gaga certainly did impress many a fashionista and performance art fan with her multiple outlandish costume changes on the stage of Radio City Music Hall at the MTV Video Music Awards. But less than two weeks later, another singer known for her alien get-ups and dramatic flair took that same stage, and I believe the sold-out crowd for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs show on Wednesday night would agree with me when I say Karen O might have Gaga beat. Something about Karen's wailing vocals — combined with the driving, rock-and-roll thrust produced by drummer Brian Chase and guitarist Nick Zinner — match those bizarre headdresses, vinyl bodices, polka-dotted tentacles and giant spangled necklaces better than a catchy pop tune ever could.

The Brooklyn band's set was much the same (though slightly longer) as their performances earlier this summer at the All Points West festival in New Jersey and at Lollapalooza in August. Starting off with "Runaway" from this year's underrated It's Blitz, they evenly alternated new songs with favorites from Fever to Tell and Show Your Bones. Some elements of the performance — the bouncing giant eyeball balloons sent into the audience, Karen spitting a fountain of water above her head — perhaps fit better in those outdoor festival settings. And the energy, from both crowd and band, wasn't quite as high as during those short sets. Then again, when she donned her colorful headdress (seemingly made from hundreds of felt hands) for "Skeleton" and that classic, studded leather jacket for "Zero," it was a relief not to have to worry she'd have a heat stroke on the air-conditioned stage.

And sure, the costumes, the confetti and the giant, glitter Ys that descended from the ceiling make for great spectacle, but the most impressive part of a YYYs show is how Karen O. She can whip her fans into a frenzy simply by raising her microphone above her head, pausing for dramatic effect and then unleashing a radiant smile as if this is the most fun she's ever had at a show. Even between the most angry and cathartic of her verses, she grinned ecstatically.

The encore stood out as the show's highlight. After barely talking to the crowd all night, Karen said she was going to sing "a New York love song" and dedicate it to hers and her bandmates' parents, as well as to opening act ESG. That song was, of course, their breakout hit "Maps," accompanied by acoustic guitar, strings and the audience singing along softly. That arrangement continued for "Hysteric," the sweet, melodic tune from It's Blitz. They were back to full blast when they finished the show with Fever to Tell's yelpy, spastic "Y Control" and "Date With the Night" — because the Yeah Yeah Yeahs aren't a band to go out on a sappy note.

By Matt Paco

New Zealand rocker Ladyhawke may sing about Paris burning, but on Wednesday it was New York City that was on fire. At the headliner of the "Perez Hilton Presents" concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, Ladyhawke was well-worth her witching-hour performance, featuring crowd-friendly renditions of "Back of the Van" and "My Delirium." Unfortunately, fellow co-headliner Ida Maria was a no-show because of illness. No matter. The two surprises Hilton pulled out of his sleeve certainly made up for it.

"I'm marveling that I was able to pull it off, because I've never put on a tour before," Hilton told MTV News. "The reason why I'm doing the tour, the reason I have a record label, the reason why I write about music on my Web site is because I think music lovers like sharing good music with other music lovers."

Hilton opened his show with pop-rocker Frankmusik, a synth-obsessive from London who instantly captured the crowd's attention with his energetic antics and catchy '80s-inspired tracks like "Gotta Boyfriend" and "Time Will Tell."

"I was lucky enough to be one of the people [Perez] brought over. It's really great for me, because it's my first time in the East Coast," said Frankmusik.

Last-minute surprise act Little Boots hit the stage sans her band mates (they were stuck across town) and performed solo with only a piano to accompany her. She thanked Hilton with a run through a haunting cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" and was followed by another surprise in Kat DeLuna, whose high-octane hip-swirling show made the walls sweat.

Self-proclaimed "filthy party band" Semi Precious Weapons killed it. "This is rock and roll — pull your f---ing tits out!" beckoned frontman Justin Tranter, who gave fierce face, body and voice to tracks like "Put a Diamond in It" and "Sticky With Champagne." Traipsing from the stage to the elevated platform and back and doing reverse pull-ups with the crowd below, Tranter summed up the evening: "This show proved two things tonight. One: rock and roll is not dead. Two: New York is not dead."

By Rya Backer

Battles, the twitchy math rock band whose 2007 debut Mirrored made huge waves among both the indie rock and dance communities, play exciting and inventive music with minimal vocals and song structure. So it was really no surprise that when I saw them Friday night (September 4) at New York's Terminal 5 for Warp20 — the birthday party for Warp Records, the English label and home to electronic pioneers like Broadcast, Aphex Twin and Anti-Pop Consortium — that they delivered an incredibly well-polished and curious gig. It was the first show the quartet had played in their native New York in over a year and their only North American show of 2009. They promised to debut new compositions at this very special show, and they delivered.

Early on in their set, Battles stuck to scorchers from their debut, like "Atlas," "Race: In," "Dance" and "Leyendecker," which played seamlessly into the night's standout, "Tonto." Drummer John Stanier looked pained for the better part of the set (namely during "Race: In" as he kept his head down for the song's duration), keeping a fluctuating time behind his yellow drum kit. Guitarist Ian Williams and vocalist Tyondai Braxton manned both a guitar neck and keyboard during certain songs, while Dave Konopka furiously played both bass and guitar (though sadly never at the same time).

Among the new works played were tracks called "Sweetie and Shag" (a vocal and bass-heavy track), "SDICT" (which starts as a sparse set of back-and-forths between Braxton, Williams and Konopka and eventually comes to a crescendo when Stanier's drums kick in) and "Sanford and Son" (which features Williams playing a loop in the middle of the song that sounds like what would happen if an accordion and a harmonica had a child — this was by far the best-received moment of the evening). Though it initially sounded out of place, the band played around it, letting the music evolve into something entirely different by the end.

The new songs were thrilling but also somewhat reassuring to the diehards in the crowd, as it was proof that Battles haven't gone all "Jazz Odyssey" on us. Rather, they've further discovered their sound and have taken freer reign in deconstructing it. See them when they're in your town, and look forward to the perpetual closer "Atlas," which turns any concert into the kind of amazing dance party you'd have in your freshman dorm.

The ink is dry on the schedules, the stages are built and the front doors have been thrown open on Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for the 2009 Outside Lands Festival. Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas, Jason Mraz, Tenacious D and dozens of others will cover the festival's seven stages for the next 72 hours. San Francisco in August is typically a cool, balmy time, but the story backstage as the weekend begins is the heat.

"This is the weather we tried to get away from," Silversun Pickups frontman Brian Aubert said (his band is from currently-sweltering Los Angeles). They sat down early with MTV News to talk about their never-ending tour, the Beatles and their plan to turn the backstage area of Outside Lands into a watery oasis.

"We're having a pool party later," joked bassist Nikki Monninger. Asked if they really rolled that VIP here in San Francisco, Aubert added, "We don't have a pool, but we're going to fill out trailer with water. We don't know how to climb in, though. It'll be more of a tidal wave than anything else."

(Check out more photos from the 2009 Outside Lands Festival, featuring Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mras and more!)

Pool parties aside, the band also spent some quality time getting psyched for their afternoon set, watching Autolux and talking about sharing a stage with Built to Spill. "Doug Martsch is the greatest," Aubert said. "It's sick that we're playing the same stage as he is." The band has been playing plenty of stages, as their current tour has kept them on the road for months — and will keep them there for plenty more. "We have time off in May of 2010," Aubert said. "I'm not trying to be funny. That's really our schedule." The band didn't show any signs of wear during their heavy, fuzz-heavy set later in the afternoon, and eventually, everybody stopped sweating.

Last night, I did something I never thought I would do: I left the office, took the subway to Madison Square Garden and showed my ticket to an usher so that I could be let into the Britney Spears concert, the second of her three Circus stops in New York this week. The idea was to get the perspective of somebody not used to big spectacles, and I walked away educated and confused but — ultimately — pleasantly surprised.

Not only had I never seen Britney Spears live, but I also have very little experience with giant pop shows or even arena acts. I've lived in New York for 10 years and have been to Madison Square Garden countless times for basketball games, but prior to last night the only concerts I had ever seen there were R.E.M., AC/DC and an ill-advised Barenaked Ladies show (that one was for a girl). Britney certainly blew away each of those groups (even the heavy-on-pyro AC/DC) with the spectacle that is the Circus tour.

(Click here for more photos from Britney Spears' wild summer!)

For the complete blow-by-blow, you should really check out Jocelyn Vena's full show report from Monday night as well as Jim Cantiello's reactions and highlights, but here are a few things that stood out to me.

» Britney Spears Knows Showmanship
Even during the best rock shows, there will always be a song or two that don't mean as much to you as the rest of them (there are always exceptions). Usually, that's the time to go back to the bar, hit the bathroom or text your friends about what a great show it is, but Britney gives you options. Not a big fan of "Piece of Me"? There are plenty of dancers to distract you. Can't stand "Ooh Ooh Baby"? No worries — magician and former "Saved by the Bell" cast member Ed Alonzo is here to perform some magic. Also, I was seriously impressed with how she covered all areas of the stage so that no corner of the arena could say they got any more or less Britney than anybody else.

» Britney Spears Is Adored
I've spent my entire life going to concerts and sporting events, but rarely have I heard the sort of sustained frenzy that I heard last night. Every single song got an amazing pop from the crowd, and when she made her first appearance, it was the second-largest ovation I have ever heard. The first was, of course, when John Cena made a surprise appearance at the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble at the same venue. Which leads me to my next observation...

» Britney Spears Is Pro Wrestling
I realized half way through the show that it reminded me of a lot of the big WWE spectacles I've seen. This is an excellent thing, as I'm a big fan of pro wrestling. The Circus show has all the right moves: Shiny outfits, complicated choreography, pyrotechnics, adrenaline-pumping music and even some great flips and tumbles care of the carnival performers who opened up the show. It was even paced like a good wrestling match, with some early high spots, a brief cool down and then another build toward a big finish. Madonna wore a championship belt on the cover of her last album, but Britney is a real heavyweight when it comes to the show.

Around the MTV Newsroom, there's a signature line that I tend to toss around a lot. Having grown up on punk rock and having spent most of my career writing about indie rock and hip-hop, I have side-stepped most of the pop trends of the past few decades. But nowadays, I'm inundated with it, and more often than not I find myself getting really wrapped up in frothy music. So every time I nod my head to Heidi Montag's new single or realize I like a Miley Cyrus song, I remind my Newsroom cohorts of one thing: "I used to have indie cred." Attending the Britney show certainly further cut into said cred, but it was refreshingly not in vain.

"But Jim," you ask, "how the hell did a pop culture fanatic like you go 27 years without seeing Britney perform live?" I dunno. I guess I never had the urge to pony up the $8 million needed to catch a Britney show. (I kid. Ticket prices are less than that. Slightly.) Plus, I was never a diehard fan of Britney's music. Don't get me wrong: I always dug her as a pop culture force, and the hoopla around her and her career has been fascinating to me since day one. I just can't say I have ever purchased a Britney song on iTunes.

Not to mention that Britney has a reputation for not always singing live at her concerts. Why would I want to pay money to see someone lip-synch for two hours? I'll save my money for the next time Grizzly Bear is in town. Now that's a concert.

But given all the "She's back!" buzz surrounding the Circus tour, I jumped at the chance to check out her first of three nights at Madison Square Garden. "If I'm gonna see Britney, now's the time to do it," I told myself during another one-sided conversation. She's a total underdog that you can't stop rooting for, and I was curious to see if she's really "back."

Let me echo the sentiments of her fans, folks. Yep, she's baaaaaaack! And I had the time of my life at her concert.

Here are five more things that totally surprised me about the "Circus" tour.

» Jordin Sparks = Force To Be Reckoned With
Jordin Sparks debuted on the Circus tour last night, and she came out like she owned the place. The girl has more bona fide smash hits than some artists twice her age, and she flaunted each and every one of them during her tight opening set. MSG lit up with camera flashes the instant Ms. Sparks appeared on stage (wearing a sick-looking feather skirt) to sing "One Step at a Time." The crowd was less enthusiastic about the pair of newer album deep cuts she tossed into the set (girl's gotta sell her new record!), but once she finished with a one-two-three punch of "Battlefield," "Tattoo" and "No Air," the room was bouncing and singing in unison. It didn't hurt that Sparks sounded spectacular live, even with her ear monitor flying off two songs in. She is a fantastic addition to the Circus tour.

» Just Because You Have No Legs Doesn't Mean You Can't Jump On A Trampoline
Britney's show begins with an extended circus act. There are expert hula-hoopers, clowns, aerial gymnasts and synchronized martial artists aplenty. There's also a scene-stealing legless wonder who climbs out of her wheelchair and bounces super-high on a trampoline! TLC is totally developing a show about her. You just know it.

» Little Girls Still Love Britney
I was flabbergasted by how many really young kids there were at the gig. I thought Britney fans had all grown up with her. But there were a significant amount of young'uns present who weren't even born when "Baby One More Time" premiered on MTV. And while the Britney show isn't as raunchy as you might think, some parents definitely had the awkward "Why was that man wearing a leather mask?" conversation on the ride back to Jersey.

» Fans Really Love "Do Somethin'"
I thought "Do Somethin'" was widely considered the steaming turd of the Spears catalog, even among hardcore fans. But when the opening bars of the 2004 oddity blared out of the speakers, the crowd went bananas. Hell, I'll admit I even took some perverse pleasure in screaming "Do! Som'in!" at the top of my lungs. I wish there had been a pink Hummer onstage, though.

» "Everytime" Is Not About Britney's Conflicted Feelings Toward An Ex — It's About Her Fans (And Her Addiction To Fame)
Midway through the set, Britney's mic got flipped in for a brief moment so she could address the screaming room. After a quick "Thank you," she burst into "Everytime" while sitting in a large swing above the stage. The ballad hit me in a new way. On one hand, Britney wants our
"face to fade away" so that she can be a normal gal. On the other, she knows she needs us to "see clear." (Remember when she went nuts and her career got put on the back burner?) And then there's this stanza: "I may have made it rain/ Please forgive me/ My weakness caused you pain/ And this song is my sorry." All is forgiven, Britney. I'll never make a Frappuccino joke again. (Britney enthusiasts will point out that the "Everytime" video addresses fame in a very head-on way, but when that song came out, all the press around it was about the implied suicide/fake-out at the end of the video. Plus, she did, like, a bajillion interviews where she said she wrote the song about a certain someone whose name rhymes with Dustin Fingertake.)

So what about that whole lip-synching thing? I get it now. The fact that Britney probably doesn't sing live is a moot point. Of the dozens of fans I chatted with before and after the show, they were there to see a spectacle, and Britney and the Circus tour definitely delivered just that. I finally understand that having a giant sing-along in a dark room with Britney Spears could be just as transcendent a concertgoing experience as seeing Grizzly Bear sing complex harmonies live with a children's choir.

Now if Edward Droste and company added amputees and trampolines to their next tour, they'd be unstoppable.

PS: I'm checking out Nine Inch Nails at Terminal 5 tonight. Which show do you think I'll like more?

Believe it or not, I have never seen Britney Spears in concert. Sure, I have seen the Backstreet Boys and even begrudgingly saw 'NSYNC, but I have never, ever seen the pop princess herself live on stage dancing and singing her way through some of her most classic and choice tunes.

So in order to prepare myself for the show tonight at Madison Square Garden, I asked some of my work colleagues here at MTV News who had the chance to see her on her "Circus" tour the first time around what they think I should expect from the show. Each of them gave me some interesting tidbits of information.

Ashley Mastronardi, who attended the show in Pittsburgh in March, told me, "Britney looks great, but she is not at her 'Slave 4 U' peak (she doesn't dance as much as she has in the past). But this show proves what a star she is because although her dancers pick her up a lot and wheel her across the stage, the audience still went crazy for her. Her star power really shines through."

James Montgomery, who loves to keep his advice short and sweet (which is ironic because in real life he is neither short nor sweet) had the lucky chance to see her on her opening night in March in New Orleans: "Three words: "Expect the gays."

Meanwhile, Nicole Guanlao, who went with Ashley to the show in Pittsburgh, said, "Don't ever underestimate Britney. There's going to be animals, acrobats, fire-breathers — the whole nine yards! What's better than seeing scantily clad and muscular acrobats dangling from the ceiling while Ms. Spears sings her chart-topping tunes? You're going to see Brit shimmy and gyrate her way through almost every song. Her sexy dance moves and even sexier outfits will definitely keep your attention from beginning to end. You also better brush up on your Britney Spears classics because she's going to be singing some of your favorite hits."

With all of that in mind, I will see the show tonight and report back with my observations about how (most likely) amazing Britney will be.

Also, tell us below if you plan on seeing her again or if you have seen her already, let me know in the comments section what I should be expecting. And by the way, I'm really excited to finally see Britney!

By Jett Wells

If you want to know how well a Girl Talk show went, you need only ask when it fell apart. Sunday's (August 23) show peaked early. By the time mash-up phenom Greg Gillis launched into his third song, the crowd had already trampled the barricade and ransacked the stage at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

From every vantage point, there were flailing body parts, sweat-drenched faces and tumbling body surfers. After hours of shoving, pushing, jumping, air-humping and fist-pumping, the crowd screamed and let out a huge breath of air and walked their limp bodies home in the rain.

Even though his live show is little more than a dude from Pittsburgh with a laptop, Gillis' intensity is undeniable. He started the concert dry-headed and wearing a sweatshirt, but by the end of the set he was half-naked and completely soaked in his own sweat. By then, Gillis was just another dude in the crowd, as the audience had long since rushed the stage to join the party next to Gillis. Halfway through the set, the music stopped suddenly because the crowd had pulled out some cords. 10 minutes later, the music stopped again because the stage was falling apart from all the weight of the dancing fans.

"You guys broke the stage!" Gillis yelled.

Perhaps the most overlooked virtue about Girl Talk concerts is that his mash-ups are always different. Most of the samples are the same, but the combination constantly changes and he's always adding new ideas. On Sunday, Gillis dipped into new hits like Drake's "Best I Ever Had" and Lady Gaga's "LoveGame."

Though the show ended with violent dancing and rain, everybody still walked away smiling. Such is Gillis' trick: He plays songs you already know in a no-frills setting, and somehow he remains transcendent.

(Click here for more photos from V Fest, including shots of Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and more!)

The Killers, MGMT and Lily Allen also turned in memorable sets, but perhaps the weekend's biggest surprise came during the performance by the Specials. In the middle of their set, the veteran ska band brought out a very special guest to join them on two songs: Amy Winehouse. In her first U.K. performance in over a year, Winehouse backed the band up on "Ghost Town" and "You're Wondering Now" before ducking back out again. That wasn't the only appearance she made during the weekend, as she also introduced fellow British tabloid regular Pete Doherty before his set on Saturday. Though she wasn't necessarily in top form with the Specials, her performance was a far cry from her appearance at last year's V Fest (where she was roundly heckled) or her attempt at a comeback earlier this year in St. Lucia (where she cut off her set six songs in because of "technical difficulties"). The festival season is coming to a close both here and abroad, which is why MTV News will be getting our last licks in this weekend in San Francisco at the Outside Lands Festival.