Lollapalooza Report: Friday [Scott Plagenhoef]

Photos by Kirstie Shanley; text by Scott Plagenhoef

First, a PSA that we're sad to report: Due to problems with their incoming flight to Chicago, CSS will not be performing today at 5 p.m. Although that saves your Pitchfork correspondents the heartache of having to choose between seeing all of their set and missing the first half of the Hold Steady, it's still a total kick in the pants to have one of the best live bands going out of today's lineup.

Daft Punk [AT&T Stage; 8:30 p.m.]

More than a year after their instantly legendary Coachella performance-- and a kajillion YouTube views of that night-- Daft Punk finally made their way to the home of house music. And while I can't imagine the thrill the unprepared Coachella crowd must have felt, not even familiarity with the set could quell seeing this visually extravagent set synched perfectly to some of the best pop music of our generation.

When the duo signal their arrival with the tones from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it's a bit of an awkward reminder that this music, birthed here, is to many American pop fans still alien. And, true to form, a few-- perhaps reminded by the sight of the nearby Adler Planetarium-- crowed that it's just a grand laser light show. Most had no complaints, however: The overflowing crowd tossed balloons, glowsticks, and even threw some diamonds in the sky, either as a tribute to Chicago's most famous DP fan (no cameo, which was just as well-- it would have ruined the performance's mystique) or to the LED pyramid itself. (And credit to Lollapalooza or Daft Punk or both, the sound, so lifeless and muddy on the same stage for Perry Farrell's Satellite Party just a few hours earlier, was flawless.)

Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo-- whether they created the set last night or last year-- deftly arranged the highlights of their career into lengthy, seamless, often humorous stretches, with portions of songs jostling and dancing alongside each other. In their robot suits, they at times looked almost pixilated in front of their staggering visuals. (Although, at the risk of being a homer, with the Chicago skyline looming behind the large crowd, Daft Punk themselves may have enjoyed the best view last night.) The big hits (save the curiously absent "Digital Love") got the biggest responses, while large portions of the maligned Human After All-- the title track, "Robot Rock", "The Brainwasher", and "The Prime Time of Your Life" ("Technologic" is still a drag, sorry)-- were so redeemed in this environment that one wonders if they were crafted with this set in mind.

You don't have to be "Jimmy the Greek" to prognosticate that there won't be better music all weekend, nor will be there be a more visually alluring performance or one that seems like more of an event. Daft Punk will win the weekend on all accounts. But despite giving the crowd more to look at that any other act, the duo also inspired people to look away from the stage and, like every great festival experience should do, spend time engaged and enjoying the music with your friends-- dancing, hugging, smiling at one another, and just generally having a great time.

After 90 minutes of technological wizardry, the set closing "Human After All"-- reprised and mixed in the encore with an eye-watering mix of "One More Time" and two of Bangalter's more sentimental, non-Daft Punk gems "Music Sounds Better With You" and "Together"-- complete with visuals of flowers, nature, and humanity itself was jarring and, frankly, almost beautiful. And at a time when music is becoming more of a backgrounded event in our lives, or something we don't value even enough to pay for, this performance and those songs and this experience was a much-needed reminder of the still-potent power of communicative pop.

PHOTOS: Blonde Redhead