Remember cramming for exams? The flustered, panicky feeling where the task ahead of you seems so daunting that your stomach hurts and you just know there’s no way you’re ever going to make it to the finish line? Now imagine that feeling spread out over a mile of the most primo real estate in Chicago, and picture having less than 24 hours to get everything in shape before 75,000 people show up expecting you to put on a show for them.

That’s kind of what it felt like walking around the grounds of Grant Park yesterday afternoon, less than a day before Lollapalooza opens its doors. Pallets of sodas and water were strewn about as far as the eye could see. Workmen in golf carts were buzzing all around the site towing pieces of staging and gear, and the crew was trying to string up the massive banks of lights that Radiohead use in their show as the rain began to fall on a humid, jungle-like afternoon.

I’m sure when we make it to the site today at noon all things will be in order, but it’s a testament to what a gigantic undertaking this three-day urban festival is that it feels like so much is left to be done with so little time.

In a city where there’s always a palpable buzz of electricity along the downtown lakeshore corridor — whether it’s the people pushing their way down Michigan Avenue to hit H&M and the Water Tower Place shopping center, or cooling off in the refreshing waterfalls that trickle down the two towering light sculptures that make up Crown Fountain — Lollapalooza’s energy amps things up another 10 notches. You can tell by the sea of skinny jeans, ripped neon tank tops, rushed-looking dye jobs and ratty Converse One Stars parading around the area that something besides the typical summer tourist season is upon you.

None of which explains how I ended up in an underground bar at midnight waiting for Katy Perry to play an unofficial Lollapalooza kick-off show (she wasn’t on the bill). Let me say this right off: I now know who Katy’s audience is.

After a conversation earlier in the evening with a colleague who said they had a serious issue with the double standard implied by Perry’s #1 smash, “I Kissed a Girl” — “What if a straight guy sang a song about kissing another guy? Would it be a hit?” they wondered — I wedged into a sea of raspberry-bubblegum-and-cocoa-butter-scented women caked in body glitter and wearing tiny, shimmery dresses that made Perry’s micro frock look like a floor-length Amish nightgown.

Cute as a button, the Vans Warped Tour pin-up girl hit the crowded stage to perform “Hot n Cold,” “Ur So Gay” (don’t even get my friend started on that one!) and her signature hit. Now, I kind of thought I could picture who would like this song, but I had no idea. “Girl” is kind of like the new “woo!” girl national anthem. And everyone, I mean everyone, in the joint was standing up to salute and shout along the chorus to their kinda naughty, but not too naughty, favorite tune of the moment. Much vodka was spilled, and I’m sure some good-natured kisses were exchanged at some point, but by the time I made it to the door, Perry was off the stage and Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” was blaring. Things could only get stranger.

No matter what happens, we’ll be here for all of it. From We Go to 11 on Friday morning to Kanye West on Sunday night, we’re in it for the long haul. Artists, fans and yours truly will cover Lollapalooza from every angle, and we’ll bring it to you all weekend long here in the Newsroom, on MTVNews.com and on our YouRHere blog.