Lollapalooza: The Fest In Photos

In what we can only describe as a brief fit of madness dilligence, one of the "we" that is Jaded Insider decided to experience all of Lollapalooza's day three from up close in the dusty, packed pit of the main AT&T stage, emerging sore, sunburned, slightly sick and fairly blissed out.

Despite early morning thunderstorms, the day turned out to be dry, if bright and hot. The gates opened at 11 a.m. with the "Star Wars" theme blasting over the P.A.'s of all nine stages. The security crew at the AT&T stage dueled with imaginary light-sabers, as a surge of Pearl Jam fans seeking prime spots on the rail came running from the main entrance.

	First up, Lousiana-bred Dax Riggs delivered an hour's worth of dark, pouty, but pleasingly muscular and slightly Southerned-up rock.
	Lupe Fiasco got even this particularly rock fan-heavy crowd going, debuting a number of new songs. A nine-year-old blonde kid in a Cubs hat squeezed his way up to the front, barely able to see over the rail, to take it all in from as close as possible. We still aren't convinced his mom knew where he was, but he sure did look like he was having fun.
	Kings Of Leon took the stage as the day's heat was finally tempered by a breeze and a few welcome clouds. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder (that's him with the tambourine) joined them for "Slow Night, So Long," the last song of their enthusiastically received set.
	My Morning Jacket played their 6:15 p.m. set wedding band-style in matching purple veleveteeen suits. They were joined on several songs by the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra (pictured), in matching purple scrubs. Go figure. J.I. has more on MMJ at Lolla here.

We admit, Pearl Jam's set made us giddy. It was worth the heat and grit and hours of not being able to move. The headliners' two hours balanced favorites like "Better Man" and "Even Flow" (augmented by a Matt Cameron drum solo) with rarities older and new ("Education," "No More War," "State of Love and Trust"). The night and festival ended with dozens of the band's guests dancing on stage as they covered Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" (pictured). And yep, that's Eddie Vedder sitting atop former Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman's shoulders as his bandmates concluded the song (bassist Jeff Ament, at left, looks particularly amused). More from Billboard on PJ's set is here.

J.I. had taken it a bit easier on Saturday, the rainier day two of the festival, but managed to catch some pleasing moments...

Hold Steady	Patti Smith and her son Jackson on the Kidsapalooza stage.
Perry Farrell intro'd Patti on the kids stage after a lot of weird banter about talkin' bees in Mayor Daley's rooftop garden.	Tokyo Police Club were the first band on the main AT&T stage on Saturday.