By Ashley Mastronardi
I've experienced some pretty fun things in D.C. this past week. Besides obviously being there while our country's first black president was inaugurated, I had some run-ins with the Secret Service, sang "The Roof Is on Fire" with Spike Lee and his entourage, and even stood mere feet away from legend of all legends Aretha Franklin.
But while waiting to meet up with some friends around 2:30 this morning, I ran into everyone's favorite bad boy and Youth Inaugural Ball performer Kid Rock. Kid and his entourage were holding court at the Cha Bar in the Donovan Hotel — and he wanted to make sure everyone knew about it.
With a cigar in his mouth and hard liquor in hand, Kid — always the showman — gave an impromptu performance. It was so loud that I could hear him all the way from the lobby. But he wasn't alone! He jammed with his too-fabulous-for-words backup singer Thornetta Davis. Kid's a great singer, but I think it's time he takes baby out of the corner and lets her work it with him onstage.
Check out a clip of Thornetta's solo during their musical collabo.
Our crack reporters are live-blogging from the backstage of our "Be the Change" inaugural Youth Ball, featuring Kanye West, Fall Out Boy and Kid Rock, and reports from Kenya, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. For a look at what went on during the rehearsals earlier in the day, head 
Daniel "Monty" Montalto 10:10 p.m. Kanye West just took the stage and everyone in the place ran toward the stage like there was an emergency. Then again, there kinda was: 'Ye was bringing down the house with a medley that kicked off with "Touch the Sky" and “American Girl” and went into some of his biggest pre-808s and Heartbreak hits. Virtually everyone is now on the right-hand side of the room, where Kanye is playing. Even the bars are empty! And Kanye is KILLING IT — and taking the black-tie dress code to levels that make me feel underdressed (of course) ...