Joan Jett Jams With Billie Joe Armstrong In New York

On Saturday, Joan Jett clearly didn’t care if she had “a bad reputation” when she joined Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong on stage at Spring Studios in New York City.

According to Billboard, Jett, best known for the hit “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll,” joined Armstrong, along with Green Day drummer Tre Cool and rhythm guitarist Jesse Malin for a brief performance. They first performed the 2004 hit “American Idiot” and then segued segued into Jett’s 1980 song “Bad Reputation” after only singing a verse and chorus of the previous track.

“Whatever youth elixir Armstrong is swilling, Jett’s doing double shots,” said Kenneth Partridge of Billboard. “At 57, the Runaways founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer still has the voice, the sneer and the leather pants that made her a star when Armstrong was still in grade school.”

Jett also shared a brief black and white video clip of her performing with Armstrong on her Twitter page, while the Tribeca Film Festival’s Twitter page shared a picture of the show.

.@GreenDay rocked out with @JoanJett for a special one-night-only show at #Tribeca2016. https://t.co/74hFVIa0D0 pic.twitter.com/7RfXFpryvL

— Tribeca (@Tribeca) April 24, 2016

The concert came after the premiere of the film Geezer at the Tribeca Film Festival, where Armstrong portrays a 40-year-old rocker past his prime with “loads of regrets.” Jett also appears in the film in a cameo role. According to the Tribeca Film Festival’s website, the film, which also stars Fred Armisen and Selma Blair, had a second showing on Sunday.

Armstrong opened and closed the show with songs that he had written specifically for the film titled “Devil’s Kind” and “Ordinary World.” Kenneth Partridge likened the latter track’s chord pattern to “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” by Bob Dylan.

Sam Blum of Fuse TV, who shared video footage of Saturday night’s concert, described Joan Jett and Billie Joe Armstrong’s coming together as “three minutes of glory.”

Last week, Joan Jett, along with a plethora of musicians ranging from Madonna to Sir Paul McCartney, paid their respects to Prince, who died on Thursday at his Paisley Park studios in Minnesota.

According to Rolling Stone, Jett was said to be crying when she described Prince as “completely unique.”

“I was very much a fan and very influenced by him,” said Jett. “[I] got lucky enough to meet him right about the time ‘Purple Rain’ was happening. He was such a talent.”

She continued, “In my life, there’s been a lot of people going out lately and it’s just a strange part of life.”

On Saturday, which is the 40th anniversary of The Ramones’ debut album, Joan Jett’s cover of “Judy is a Punk” was recognized by Uproxx, as one of the best covers of a Ramones song.

“It’s fitting that Joan Jett would choose this Ramones song to cover because Jett was definitely a punk as demonstrated by her being one of the founding members of The Runaways,” said Clint Corey of Uproxx, who noted that this version was heard in the 2006 documentary Too Rough To Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone.

Corey continued, “Jett shows her affinity for the Ramones and layers in a little extra guitar for emphasis.”

Even at 57, Joan Jett is still in demand and is going to have a busy July with performance booked in different states.

On July 2, she and The Blackhearts will perform at the Choctaw Casino Hotel in Pocola, Oklahoma, while on July 4, Jett will join KC & The Sunshine Band in Dublin, Ohio, for the city’s Independence Day celebration with a theme of “Punk, Funk and Fireworks.”

On July 21, The Blackhearts will join fellow Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famers, Cheap Trick and Heart for a show at Pittsburgh’s First Niagara Pavilion, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Further, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts received a rave review from Amy Young of the Phoenix New Times when they performed during Arizona Bike Week, earlier this month.

“Everyone went nutso when they tore right into ‘Bad Reputation,’ and rightfully so – it sounded pretty killer,” said Young. “Jett’s voice sounded powerful and growly.”

[Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images]