"George Bush is treating New York like a cheap hooker," Moby said onstage at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Tuesday before launching into a primal version of Paper Lace's "The Night Chicago Died." "He doesn't even have the decency to spend the night in the city."

Moby was just one of the performers who spoke about the upcoming Republican National Convention and called for a change in government at a star-studded political event launching MoveOn PAC's advertising campaign called 10 Weeks: Don't Get Mad, Get Even!. Hosted by Janeane Garofalo, the evening provided a forum for rousing performances by Moby, Perry Farrell, Natalie Merchant and the Roots, political speeches by the likes of former presidential hopeful Howard Dean and the ads themselves.

Created by a fleet of directors -- including Rob Reiner (This is Spinal Tap) and Richard Linklater (School of Rock) -- and actors, the ads all send a clear message with their slogan: "President Bush. He's not on our side." Each week until the election, a new ad will be aired on TV and the Internet.

"It's our way of giving people a fun way to keep abreast of the issues and airing media that's really different and groundbreaking," Laura Dawn, MoveOn PAC's event and cultural director (and a singer herself), told Rolling Stone. Dawn organized the event and performed alongside Moby.

"The first ad that we're going to release is [hip-hop music video director] Benny Boom's ad. That's paired with a petition and a campaign that we're doing with Russell Simmons and Hip-Hop Summit Action Network and Sean "P Diddy" Combs," she said. "We're going to launch a petition asking the Bush campaign to disavow these voter suppression techniques they've been using against African Americans in Detroit and Florida . . . That's why we're calling it 10 Weeks: Get Mad, Get Even!. Protesting is great, but it's not going to mean a damn thing if we lose."

Dawn took the stage with Moby, who played electric guitar, and the Loser's Lounge Band, performing several covers including Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze," which let Moby show off his flinty guitar playing, providing snarling guitar licks and hurling the song's lyrics with an angsty force.

Perry Farrell bounded onstage to tear through a funky version of his former band Jane's Addiction's aggressive anthem "Idiots Rule." "Remember that song when those people come to town," the lanky singer quipped.

Farrell and Moby also kick-started the show with Thunderclap Newman's call-to-action "Something in the Air." Farrell sang, "We have got to get it together," in his famously nasal voice, prowling and stalking the stage, with hip-shaking and twirling galore.

The Roots roused the seated crowd with "The Seed (2.0)" and gave guitarist Kirk Douglas ample room to demonstrate his prowess. The musician offered a passionate and enthusiastically received solo as the band jammed along.

"I think it's more important that people really lay out their options and find out what they can say 'yes' to," drummer ?uestlove told Rolling Stone before the show.

The band's latest album, The Tipping Point, hints at political unrest with its title. "Usually whenever we name our albums, it has to have three meanings," he said. "One, meaning for the group, two, meaning for hip-hop culture, and three, [reflecting] the political climate . . . The Tipping Point could indicate the general direction of where we'll be in 2005."

Singer Natalie Merchant, an avid political activist, performed material from her album Motherland, including a flamenco-guitar-accented version of "This House is On Fire." Before performing the hypnotic "Which Side Are You On," written by Florence Reece about the importance of unionizing, Merchant waxed political.

"My grandfather was a coal miner," she said. "I never thought the Republican Party served the interests of my family . . . [They have] nothing but contempt and loathing for the working class."

Other guests included comedian/writer/radio personality Al Franken and actors Edie Falco and Kevin Bacon, all who introduced the commercials. Boom's commercial, titled "Everybody," depicted a group of black teenagers marching to the precincts. When they reach the doors, a police officer asks if there's a problem. One teenager replies, "It's not a problem. We're here to vote."

"It's about the city, about the kids understanding they do have the right to vote and the power to vote," Boom said before the show. "In numbers, we make a difference."

The ads targeted an array of issues from a Margaret Cho-written spot about gay marriage to a commercial featuring model Rebecca Romijn driving around in a truck to talk to Republicans about Bush's record. At its end, she convinces one man to vote for Kerry, handing him a bumper sticker that reads: "Another Republican for Kerry."

The evening's theme was about reclaiming control of the political process, something emphasized in Dean's speech. Encouraging those attending to contribute to various organizations, the former Vermont governor said the most effective way to get involved is to run for office. "We want to have this country back for the people who built it," he said.

Performers also spoke about the importance of artists using their creativity to send political messages. "It's kind of amazing to think that a year ago, most musicians, actors, writers, whatnot, were either apathetic, or certainly weren't involved," Moby said before the show. "And now almost everybody's involved. It's very heartening."