There was no dance floor at the U.S. Cellular Stage Thursday night when Passion Pit returned to Milwaukee to headline Summerfest's opening day but the hundreds of people or so that began standing on the bleachers didn't mind.

The bleachers shook and swayed as the enormous crowd danced, clapped wildly and made the most of the limited room available. It was apparent that many on hand had also witnessed the band's recent show at the Riverside and wanted to see how the band would approach an outdoor gig.

They got a full-blown party as explosive as the Big Bang fireworks that proceeded the show and the crowd merged into a single entity taken over by the irresistible beats Passion Pit offered.

Electronic pop and dance music isn't the typical thing I listen to, so I didn't quite jump on the bandwagon initially when I first heard about Passion Pit. But the more I listened, the more its uniqueness showed itself to me. While I might not be a die-hard fan that can sing all the lyrics, I have appreciation for what they're doing.

Passion Pit in a live setting is a wild animal in itself -- the band offered a body-moving set of songs from its debut CD "Manners" and EP "Chunk of Change" that kept the energy high and without the hint of a lull. Songs like "Little Secret" brought even more life to an already lively crowd.

The songs did tend to sound a little similar to each other after a while but like everyone else the free flowing atmosphere was too fun to let that spoil it.

The band's lead singer, Michael Angelakos, chatted passionately with the crowd, instructing it to make arm waves and expressing amazement at the crowd's stamina to party on the bleachers for the close to hour and a half set. "Now you're feeling it," Angelakos said triumphantly part-way through the set, as the band brought its big sound outdoors.

Passion Pit wrapped up with a great encore which included a cover of the The Cranberries' hit song "Dreams."

Tokyo Police Club

Those who arrived early to the U.S. Cell got a chance to see Canadian rock band Tokyo Police Club, fresh off the release of its second full-length "Champ."

The band often gets called indie rock, garage rock or post-punk revivalists but the latest CD doesn't sweat living up to their debut.

The band performed a good mix of old and new (one they called a medium oldie). It seemed as the set progressed the band grew more comfortable and toward the end worked up the crowd with great renditions of songs like "Breakneck Speed" and "Wake Up (Boots of Danger)."

Jeremiah Nelson & the Achilles Heel

The Cascio stage offered a taste of great music coming from the state and Midwest.

One of these was Jeremiah Nelson & the Achilles Heel, a Madison-based band with honey-suckled Americana and country blended with greasy summertime rock and roll fun.

Nelson was getting over a cold but still delivered a powerful force to his voice and lyrics (especially during the three solo songs he did midway through the set).

The band was grateful for the crowd's attentiveness, and offered up a song rarely played. The set ended with a fun all-out rocker that capped off a great performance.