Lollapalooza starring Trey Kerby (Day 1)

Day 1 of Lollapalooza went perfectly. To begin, the weather, which was supposed to be sunny and 96 degrees, was instead overcast and about 80. Still pretty sweat city though. Particularly my back and forehead, as anyone familiar with my sweat patterns could imagine. ANYHOW, once we got in we went and saw the end of ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead's set, and I do have to say that they have a very fitting name. Not my kind of music, but a very intense live show with two drummers at all times. It was kind of strange to see a band like that at 2:00 in the afternoon when they're clearly a night band. We didn't stay their whole set because if you don't like their music, they really aren't that entertaining. That being said, we caught the last song of Ambulance LTD.'s show which was a cover of Neil Young's "Everyone Knows This is Nowhere." Very nice.
For the 2:30 shows we decided we might as well see the Kaiser Chiefs just for the milk of it. What a terrifically good decision. The show that these fellows put on was absolutely amazing. Between the lead singer going up on to the stage supports and then bringing up a couple of fans to sing a song, it was just a really, really good performance. Needless to say, I just finished downloading their full-length, Employment.
At 3:30 we went to the Brian Jonestown Massacre in hopes that their lead singer would freak out and do something crazy. He swore at Dashboard Confessional, but other than that it was nothing. Probably the weirdest part of the day was when I overheard Dashboard (as their strangely loving fans call them) covering Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag." Good song, terrible band, so I don't really know how I feel about that.
After we had a quick bite to eat, we walked by the Bravery (seemed rehearsed) and Cake (seemed like 1997) on the way to wait for Mr. Billy Idol. For a 50+ year old man, Billy Idol looked awesome. A small Chinese (I assume) guy behind me said that he wished he was gay just for Billy Idol. The show was great, especially when Billy somehow convinced God to make it rain only for "White Wedding." He also had probably the coolest entrance in the history of music too. As he was walking in, he continually said "Billy Idol is coming." Could there be a better way to announce your arrival? I submit that there can not.
Choosing to wait and stay close for the Pixies show, we pseudo-watched Primus from afar. Much to my 1996 self's chagrin, they didn't play "Winona's Big Brown Beaver."
Then it was the moment that I have been waiting for ever since I first saw Fight Club. Just after 7:30, the Pixies took the stage. Frank Black was HUGE!!! He must have been at least 250 pounds, and probably more. Everyone else looked like you would expect them to, but Frank was enormous. Somehow, he still sounded perfect, like nothing had changed. Except of course the extra 4th grader that he was now carrying around. They played every song I could have wanted, even (surprisingly) "Head On." Just a perfectly perfect show that I couldn't believe that I was actually watching. Of course their encore was "Where Is My Mind?" Simply stunning.
After seeing a band that you never thought you'd be able to see in your life, anything else is quite the letdown. That being said, Weezer sounded very good, and they didn't play too much off of their new album, thankfully.
All in all, a totally perfect day of festival. I didn't miss any bands I wanted to see, and I didn't die from heat stroke. And, oh yeah, I saw the Pixies.

Tomorrow: Day 2.