Lollapalooza, Day One: No Point Resisting The Lure Of Radiohead. You Are Their Captive.

Photograph by Rory O'Connor

Compared to so many of the other festivals I've been to, Lollapalooza has a lock on offering more compelling acts at the same time than any other. What does one do, when forced to Sophie's Choice between seeing Wilco and Rage Against The Machine, both on at 8:30 tonight? Kanye West or Nine Inch Nails, competing in the eight o'clock hour tomorrow night, on opposite sides of Grant Park? But last night, festival organizer Perry Farrell played it smart, putting no other acts up against the epic grandeur of Radiohead, whose two-hour set drew a rapt audience of 80,000. They offered plenty of material from their recent album In Rainbows, but also some of my personal favorites from Kid A -- "Everything In Its Right Place" and set-closer "Idioteque" -- which I still think is the best Radiohead album, as a whole. Afterward, all 80,000 concertgoers poured out onto the streets of downtown Chicago, at once energized and blissed out from the day's performances. All in all, not a bad start to the weekend. Check Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily for more (www.rollingstone.com) and come back throughout the weekend for updates. -- JENNY ELISCU