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One wouldn't necessarily think of Hugh Jackman, muscle man of Broadway and the X-Men universe, to introduce a special acoustic performance by members of pop-punk band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But however incongruous, they came together for modern art last night at the after party for the Museum of Modern Art's annual Party in the Garden. Jackman jumped on the stage set up in the museum's sculpture garden to introduce Karen O and Nick Zinner.

This year's fundraiser honored Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder. Guests at the dinner included John Chamberlain, Chuck Close, Vera Wang, Richard Meier, Glenn Close and Mayor Bloomberg. In previous years, the after party has included performances from M.I.A., Mos Def and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.

Accompanied by string players and full band, Karen and Nick performed a silky, stripped-down set. Dressed in a Technicolor kimono minidress, Karen O told the crowd that they would start "Soft and sweet ... and then maybe in 25, 30 minutes you guys can go fucking crazy." The group played mostly Yeah Yeah Yeahs favorites ("Soft Shock," "Maps" "Y Control"); "All Is Love" from the Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack, with a shout out to the film's director Spike Jonze; and a cover of Atlas Sound's "Criminals." A few songs in, Ms. O declared, "I got to make an adjustment—I gotta take these shoes off," slipping off her skyscraper wedges. Of course, several of the revelers had already done the same, despite who-knows-how-many wine glasses broken on the sculpture garden tiles over the course of the night.