So Fall Out Boy -- sans Pete Wentz, for reasons unclear (ahem, wifeinlabor, ahem) -- are performing in the middle of Times Square on tonight's TRL Finale, and just in case you weren't aware, it's cold outside.

So backstage, FOB frontman Patrick Stump was packing on the layers ... Thermal underwear, you name it.

"I'm trying to put my jacket on, but it's kind of tough," he laughed.

This is a photo of him after he successfully donned said jacket. I told him to look "hot," though I get the feeling he didn't need much direction.

There are about 532 floors here at 1515 Broadway, the site of tonight's TRL Finale ... And scattered throughout those floors are stars like Beyonce, Diddy, 50 Cent and Fall Out Boy. Finding them is kind of like locating the gilded needle in the haystack.

After about an hour of elevator action (not the old NES game, sadly), I managed to scout out three floors full of dressing rooms ... And just as many angry security guards ready to deny me access.

So while I wait my chance to break through enemy lines (I'm currently hiding under a desk on the 22nd floor), I figure I'd send along these photos, which will at least give you an idea of who's gonna be here tonight, and just which way their dressing rooms are located.

More later.

Sunday, September 7, 2008, 2:17 pm PT: Britney Spears is here! Like, on the lot and everything! She rolled up in a black limousine on the Paramount lot, decked out in a electric blue tank top [and no pants? -- ed. JK, she was very ostensibly wearing pants, rumormongers], flanked by a fleet of beefy security guards. She quickly made a bee line for a backstage dressing room, where she'll presumably remain until showtime. (Note: beefy security team frowned on me snapping photos of Brit's actual arrival, so all I ended up with is a photo of the door she entered and the angry security guys).

Nearby, Paramore guitarist Josh Farro killed time outside his dressing room, plinking out a somber tune on a baby grand piano. And Kid Rock, hair pulled back in a pony tail, Detroit Tigers cap pulled low on his head, made his way to catering, to load up on carbs for his performance tonight (or maybe get a beer or three).

+ Stay tuned for tons more Buzzworthy VMA celeb spotting -- it's like shooting fish in a barrel!

Do you need to be in a professional rock band to be good at 'Rock Band?'

The question was posed to a couple of actual bands -- Panic at the Disco and Plain White T's -- at the 'Rock Band 2' concert/promotional bonanza held at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip. Their answer? Well, it doesn't hurt.

"Consistency and commitment," Panic bassist Jon Walker said as he and his bandmates wheedled their way through the Allman Brothers' "Ramblin' Man," "Those are the keys to success."

"I didn't even know the words to the song we were doing," PWT frontman Tom Higginson laughed after delivering a yowling version of Nirvana's "Drain You." "But I still got 100 percent on 'Hard.' I'm like Kurt Cobain here."

Given that both bands are going to Sunday's Video Music Awards -- Panic is nominated for Best Pop Video -- we figured it would be a good time to get some predictions about who'd be taking a Moonman on show night.

"I'd like to see Panic win, because we're going on tour with them," Higginson said, while his bandmates wailed through Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box." "I don't know how Britney got nominated for anything though."

"I think the Jonas Brothers are going to take Best Pop Video," Panic guitarist Ryan Ross said. "But I'd like it if we won. Jon gave his first Moonman (Panic's 2006 Video of the Year award) to his parents, and they won't give it back."

Stay up-to-date on everything about the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards at vma.mtv.com, and don't miss the big show Sunday (September 7) at 9 p.m. ET/PT or the pre-show red carpet coverage that starts at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

A yearly tradition here at the VMAs is the grand unveiling of the official Gift Bag -- a collection of glimmering jewelry, high-end electronics, cheekily named cosmetic products and glorious ephemera that is handed out to winners, presenters and performers who don't really have much use for it at all, considering they are already super-rich celebrities.

Not surprisingly, finding new and interesting ways to write about the Bag each year is a challenge, so when I drew the assignment, I was a little bummed. Luckily, this year, we had a special guided tour of the entire Schwag Bag, courtesy of the one and only Fonzworth Bentley.

Mr. Bentley is no stranger to the finer things in life, so the Gift Bag was nothing new to him. Still, there were a few moments where he dropped his polished persona and freaked out just like you or I would if we were given a sack of really fancy stuff.

And in those brief instances, he gave me a glimpse inside his very essence. So, thanks to the VMA Gift Bag, here's what I've learned about the other Fonz:

++If possible, he would wear only one fabric: "Cashmere is my favorite fabric," he enthuses, wrapping a Qi Cashmere scarf around his neck. "If you get your gift bag, celebrities, and there's something missing ... well, you know what it is."

++He is a huge fan of epaulets, informing people that he knows what an epaulet is: "This is an epaulet," he says, picking up a black shirt and rubbing the shoulder riveting. "This is not 'a military shirt,' okay? It's a shirt with epaulets."

++He knows how to accessorize. Upon discovering a pair of brand-new Pumas with bright-yellow soles, Bentley admits that, "If I wore these sneakers, I'd match them with a glass of lemonade."

++He does not refer to hats as "hats." Rather, they are "chapeaus." I am not really sure what this says about him.

Stay up-to-date on everything about the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards at vma.mtv.com, and don’t miss the big show Sunday (September 7) at 9 p.m. ET/PT or the pre-show red carpet coverage that starts at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

If someone offered you $500 to possibly kill (or at least blind) yourself and permanently damage your internal organs, would you do it?

What about if you were really bored, and that someone was Pete Wentz?

Well, I know my answer: yes. This is because, yesterday, while we were taking a break from shooting the special VMA-edition of FNMTV (airing this Friday! 8 p.m.! Special appearances by Tokio Hotel and T.I.! WOOOO!), Wentz bet me $500 to eat a gigantic, gumball-sized ball of wasabi -- then wash it down with 32 fluid ounces of really nasty Kombucha , a fermented drink that tasted a whole lot like malted vinegar. And I took him up on his wager.

So I downed the wasabi (shooter style, like an oyster), and chugged the Kombucha. It felt like I had just swallowed a smoldering charcoal briquette, then doused it in gasoline. For about two hours, I was drenched in sweat, my head throbbed and I felt like I was going to puke my guts out. Then I felt like I was going to die. My stomach made unspeakable noises and produced even more unspeakable odors. Pete laughed at me a whole lot. But it was worth it. (Check out more photo evidence after the jump.)

Because at the end of the day, his wife Ashlee Simpson came on set and gave me a knot of twenties that added up to $500 ... I felt vindicated, and rich. Then I went back to my hotel and destroyed the bathroom.

All-in-all, a pretty excellent way to kick off VMA week. And say what you will about Wentz, he is a complete sadist ... But he definitely does not welch on a bet.

+ More revolting photos after the jump...

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