With Photos: Debbie Harry, Billy Idol, Mark McGrath Perform at Jane’s Addiction/Perrypalooza

Perry Farrell’s 50th birthday party was a little bit of a “We Are The Whirled.” His famous friends crowded the stage at Mirage’s Bare pool (a topless pool during the daytime), to sing some of Farrell’s favorite songs.

During one five-minute stretch, his buddy Billy Idol (at Farrell’s insistence) crooned “Eyes Without A Face,” backed up on guitar by Tom Morello (ex-Rage Against The Machine), with actress Juliette Lewis and guitarist Dave Navarro singing backup, while Farrell danced on the side of the stage with his wife Etty, who was gyrating next to a woman in a lacy see-through body stocking, looking like Rosanna Arquette.

That moment came after surprise guest Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray punked through a cover of the Sex Pistol’s “E.M.I.” — and before surprise guest Deborah Harry sang “Rapture” with rapper Sen Dog from Cypress Hill.

It was all topped off by Farrell’s reuniting with Porno For Pyros for the first time in a dozen years, followed the thin-mint singer’s performing with the original members of his more famous alternative rock outfit, Jane’s Addiction.

Just to make sure we all knew this was an arty-intellectual fusion of punk and mainstream, the pre-concert DJ was street-artist star Shepard Fairey, playing with a Mac laptop emblazoned with the most recognizable Obama stickers, which Fairey created.

There are times in the world when many musicians get on stage together, and such get-togethers usually carve a niche for “We Are The World”-esque charity deals, David Foster soft-pop events, or inaugurations of Democratic presidents.

But Farrell made this $100 ticket — attended by, what?, 500 people on a Saturday night? — an organic-feeling concert of people he wanted to hear at his birthday party (even if it was a birthday party formed by signed contract between a hotel and a star).

The crowd of good tippers (largely in their 30s and 40s, and seeming very L.A. in their leather pants and trophy wives) didn't get guitarist Slash as promised. He was a no-show.

But Lewis was amazing. I know, I know, you’ve never seen Juliette Lewis perform in concert, but you’re missing out. She was a core of energy covering AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds,” a dervish in a stick-figure red dress.

Debbie Harry, clad in unsurprising black, provided a pleasant reminiscent with “Call Me” as Lewis sang backup.

Morello wore a Cubs cap and played a guitar proclaiming in big letters, “Arm The Homeless,” while backing up musicians through the night. When he backed up Billy Idol, Idol (his shirt collar turned up) paced the stage frantically and said playing with Morello made it feel like it was his birthday, too.

And of course, there were the main events: Farrell’s two-song reunion with Porno for Pyros after a 12-year break; and a spin around the block with Jane’s Addiction for four songs.

As you can imagine, there were probably too few Jane’s and Pyros songs for diehard fans, who will have to buy tickets to see Jane’s with Nine Inch Nails at the Palms in May, to get a full set.

But Saturday's two-hour oddity all looked fascinating, and sounded great, or at least very good at its worst moments. And if you could go with the flow of the show, it was pretty intensely enjoyable — and bizarre to see Mark McGrath doing Sex Pistols next to Debbie Harry doing “Call Me” next to Juliette Lewis doing AC/DC next to Sen Dog and Morello doing Cypress Hill next to the reunion of the original Pyros and Jane’s.

But Perry Farrell is a bizarre guy, and a pretty intensely enjoyable frontman with good taste in his friends' music, so it was quite the cavalcade of a diversionary spectacle that he assembled.