And What Did YOU Do On Monday?

Apparently, while Jaded Insider was home asleep after crawling home to New York from Lollapalooza yesterday, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was playing a post-Lolla show... with Kid Rock... in a bar in Chicago's West Loop. And we were mighty mighty suspicious on hearing this, and then someone's pictures turned up and lo and behold.

The story, as best we could glean it, is that hockey player Chris Chellios had a private party for charity at Stanley's Kitchen and Tap (come to think of it, while doing the honors at the 7th inning stretch of Friday's Cubs game, Vedder did mumble something about going to a benefit). The crowd of less than 200 got 45 minutes of EV, backed by a local band called Halfway Jane. A white-Fedora'ed Kid Rock sat in for a spell.

We hear Vedder and Rock dueted on PJ's "Yellow Ledbetter," a song rife with show-offy, Hendrix-y guitar moments, so that's tough enough to imagine without PJ's guitarist Mike McCready involved, let alone to picture with Kid Rock lending vocals. Oh, and did we mention the song has very few decipherable words?

A cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," which closed Pearl Jam's Lollapalooza set the night before, was also played. And the whole shebang purportedly also briefly involved "Big" Kenny Alphin of Big & Rich and Dennis Rodman (calling to mind that weird mid-'90s time when Vedder turned up for a similarly random party/show in Chicago which served as Rodman's birthday party).

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.

A Lollapalooza-ing We Will Go

Some of us Billboarders are headed to three-days of nonstop live music at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park. So much sounds excellent (Stooges, Spoon, TV on the Radio, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse) but I'll hazard to admit I'm looking most forward to the Pearl Jam headlining set on Sunday night. I won't bore with details of the fact that their set will be the 15th anniversary -- literally -- of my first Pearl Jam show, also at Lollapalooza in Chicago. But mmmm, Chicago in August. Heatstroketastic! Let's just hope Mssrs Vedder, Gossard, McCready, Ament, and Cameron are willing to lob some more rarities out there like the ones they played last night at the fanclub-only Lollapalooza warm-up show at the Vic (check out the review here).

Signing Off From Chicago.....

"We're so proud of you Chicago," Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy said at end of the band's set. "You guys really know how to go to a festival."

The three-day Lollapalooza in Grant Park, Chicago, is coming to an end. Approximately 60,000 people per day attended the event, according to a fest spokesperson, although Perry Farrell put the number closer to 70,000 when he introduced the Red Hot Chili Peppers (who are in the midst of "Dani California" as we type).

Sunday was by far the slowest of our three days here, but Wilco, the Shins and the Broken Social Scene were all at the top of their game. Hometown rockers Wilco got one of the loudest ovations of the day, with Tweedy confessing that he's still trying to "get the hang of this 'come on, sing along' thing." The band unveiled a handful of new songs. Two of the three left us mightily impressed, including one track with a chorus of "I know you're not listening." The song brought out a stronger soul keyboard in the group, and allowed guitarist Nels Cline to run with a low-key, jazzy solo. 

The Broken Social Scene were also a Sunday highlight, bringing out Feist and members of Stars (more than a dozen people were on stage at some points). The pitch perfect harmonies of "Anthems For A 17 Year-Old Girl" were an especially hypnotic way to start winding down the evening.

The Chili Peppers have about 60 minutes left, so we're signing off for the night and the weekend.

Sunday In The Park

Day Three of Lollapalooza in Chicago is about four hours old, and thus far, Sunday is a much more laid-back affair than the action-packed Saturday. Ben Kweller just wrapped a set of heartland rock, and across the park Hot Chip got a post-brunch crowd dancing. The latter provided some early Sunday excitement, with three keyboards providing melodies and counter rhythms to a drum/cowbell combo. While not nearly as adventurous as the like-minded LCD Soundsystem, it's high-end dance that could easily be transferred to a Milan fashion show.

New York via Minneapolis pub rockers the Hold Steady previewed songs from a fall album, including the prom-themed "Acid Night." With a set list strictly influenced by bible studies and beer drinking, the Hold Steady pack songs with power-pop riffs and plenty of background "whoa-oohs." The band's cleverness sometimes gets the better of them, lending the songs the feel of a giant ironic wink.

Also earlier: alt-rockers Sparta, '60s revivalists the Redwalls and Irish stars the Frames. The crowd is definitely lighter than the Kanye-headlined Saturday, and the fest will come to a close with hometown rock act Wilco and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.