"I'm old enough to be your mom," a taut and severely tan Courtney Love told the crowd of hipsters that packed into New York's Hiro Ballroom for her intimate Thursday night gig. "F---, I am your mom." The grunge matriarch had indeed just celebrated her 43rd birthday -- nearly twice the age of the 3,000 kids that clamored to get inside the approximately 500-capcity venue -- but she roared through her set of raw rock 'n' roll with timeless punk passion and veracity.

"We're gonna play a few oldies, but we're gonna play a lot of new stuff," Love said early in the set. "We're trying to see what works and what doesn't so I can go and mix this f------ record." True to her word, the 90-minute set consisted largely of new material from her upcoming Linda Perry-produced album, 'Nobody's Daughter.' The chain-smoking Love and her new five-piece band worked out the kinks in new songs such as 'How Dirty Girls Get Clean,' 'Stand Up Motherf-----' and the anti-cocaine rant 'Loserdust.'

The gig was far from smooth, as fans spent chunks of time watching Courtney tune her guitar, locate the source of "fart noises" coming through the amps and dig out lyrics sheets for songs not yet committed to memory. But die-hards were rewarded for their patience with a sprinkling of Hole throwbacks, including 'Malibu,' 'Celebrity Skin' and 'Miss World,' amidst the new material.

What the set lacked in form and focus, Love -- who sipped an Ensure shake between songs ("It's for anorexics," she quipped) -- made up for with charisma, attitude and sharp between-song banter. "You think I need a butt lift?" she said, responding to a heckling about the obvious nips and tucks she's had over the years. "I've lifted everything. I'm not lifting anything else. It's all falling now. Shut up!"