Joan Jett’s career has been built around short tunes with catchy melodies and “crunchy” guitars played at high volumes. It’s a methodology that has, along with a strong onstage work ethic, paid dividends for Jett and helped her maintain an impressive presence on concert tours.

Her free outdoor concert performance Friday night at the Seneca Niagara Casino revealed just how much of Jett’s original core audience has stayed with her, and why succeeding generations have come under the sway of the forceful personality and deceptively simple guitar riffing that lies at the heart of every song. Along with her crack trio of seasoned punk rock associates — guitarist Dougie Needles, drummer Thommy Price and bassist Enzo — Jett whipped through much of her back catalog (including “Cherry Bomb,” “Bad Reputation,” “Do You Want To Touch Me”) plus a couple tunes from “Sinner,” her last album and a twisted yet fun version of “Love Is All Around.”

There was so much energy expended on stage during these performances that a member of the road crew had to come out every couple songs to wipe the sweat from in front of Jett’s microphone. At one point she even took it upon herself to flick drops of self-generated moisture from her chin onto fans in the front row. By the end of a dozen tunes, Jett’s leather vest and pants were glistening.

It wasn’t all business, however, and Jett revealed a playful side to her tough punk image when she began leading the audience in a sing-a-long version of “Happy Birthday” for her bass player as a member of her crew brought out a cake with lit candles. Despite his protestations that he didn’t want the attention, Enzo had to put up with the foolery for a few moments before the band quickly got back to the work at hand, tearing through another batch of hard-charging selections.

Opening up for such an established star can be daunting, but the Derek Miller Band, Juno Award winners from Canada, didn’t seem bothered by the task. They went about their business with alacrity, tearing through tunes with structured abandon.

The trio managed to set the volume bar at about 11 for Jett, with Miller revealing a loud, muscular style of guitar playing that showcased a tone wide enough to span rivers of sound and a vocal range that, by all rights, should have been more restricted given the way he seemed to shred his vocal chords on every other song.

It was a good introduction to the band, since Miller and his two band mates are scheduled to play a gig at Buffalo’s Lafayette Tap Room tonight. Based upon their performance Friday, it should be a blast.