A special HITS report by Shirley Halperin

In celebration of LIFEbeat’s 10th anniversary and in anticipation of tonight’s MTV Video Music Awards, music fans came out in force last night for a special show at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. The bill, which was orchestrated by HITS’ own Karen Glauber, was headlined by Sweden's hottest garage-rock export The Hives, along with critically acclaimed singer-songwriter (and Ivana's favorite shaggy-haired hearthrob) Pete Yorn, Emo faves Jimmy Eat World and California punkers Sugarcult.

On hand to MC the event was Howard Stern producer Gary Dell’Abate who’s been a proud member of the board of the music industry fights AIDS org for over five years. Introducing Yorn, Dell’Abate told the audience: "You guys might not realize, not only did you buy tickets for a great show, but you’re also supporting a great cause." Yorn appeared on acoustic guitar with Jimmy Eat World’s Zach Lind on snare drum. His 45-minute set included songs from his latest album, musicforthemorningafter, along with a new composition and covers of The Cure’s "In Between Days" and Guns N Roses’ "Patience." He also dedicated the song "Bandstand in the Sky" to the late Jeff Buckley.

On to Jimmy Eat World who, quite simply, rocked the house. Frontman Jim Adkins delivered a stellar performance, unmatched in stamina and energy that riled the kids into forming one massive endless mosh pit on the ballroom’s floor. In response, The Hives took full advantage of their headlining slot. Having only made a couple of New York appearances prior (their two-night Bowery Ballroom bow back in June may have been this year’s hardest-to-score ticket), their set was highly anticipated. Even Jackass star Johnny Knoxville was noticeably excited. Introducing the band, he prodded the audience to "wear a condom, because the next band is so hot I'm going to have to start touching myself."

To that end, the Hives’ howling lead vocalist Pelle Lunquist, whole-heartedly agreed. In between songs, his trademark banter amused all. At one point, he announced: "All of you people enjoying yourselves at the rock concert tonight have learned one thing—YOU LOVE THE HIVES!" Indeed we do, especially their unique take on vintage garage rock. Closing the show, Lunquist instructed the audience: "Please take a moment to clap for us now all you New York City fancy-pants. This is our last song and we leave the building very quickly after the last song, so there will be no time for clapping later, you must clap now."

Adhering to his directive were plenty of industry VIPs, among them LIFEbeat founder and Artemis President Daniel Glass, Moby, manager Rick Yorn, MTV2’s David Cohn, MTV’s Brian Graden, former LIFEbeat head Tim Rosta and DreamWorks’ Michael Goldstone.