The Smashing Pumpkins headline the North stage.The dust had cleared from a highly-acclaimed Saturday night set by headliners The Police, but Baltimore's Virgin Festival was still going strong Sunday morning.Brazilian electro-rockers CSS kicked off the second day at the Pimlico Fairgrounds. Judging by their outrageous costumes and the many balloons onstage, this band clearly brought the party with them. Lead singer Lovefoxxx dazzled the crowd with an eye-popping unitard and some impressive yoga positions; mid-set she stripped to reveal another one piece underneath. Highlights included a song dedication to Baltimore native and acclaimed weirdo director John Waters, the band performing fantastic takes on L7's "Pretend We're Dead" and their own "Let's Make Love And Listen To Death From Above", and Lovefoxxx dancing the Macarena with three concertgoers who were inexplicably dressed up as bushes. Lovefoxxx of CSS dazzles the crowd.Russian import Regina Spektor followed on the headlining North stage. Perhaps attempting to compete with the inveterate quirkiness of CSS, Spektor walked onstage wearing a literal boa-- a rubber snake-- around her neck. Although she performed her entire set solo, Spektor kept things interesting by moving from piano to guitar to acapella, tapping her microphone for simple percussion. Her much alleged similarity to Tori Amos, both in her expressive voice and oblique lyrics, was most pronounced when she sat down at the keys for Begin to Hope tunes like "Samson" and "Us". Predictably, radio hit "Fidelity" drew the biggest response and brought the camera phones out in the crowd.Regina Spektor (sans boa) plays "Fidelity".On the South stage, Austin natives Explosions in the Sky proved that everything-- even guitar sound-- is bigger in Texas. Their epic post-rock instrumentals provided a couple of genuinely beautiful moments, as well as a dramatic backdrop to the thousands of fans grabbing a bite to eat or catching a few winks on the grass.Back on the North stage, vocalist Karen O held sway with fellow Yeah Yeah Yeahs cohorts Nick Zinner on guitar and Brian Chase on drums. Energetic, punk-informed grooves on Show Your Bones tunes like "Phenomena" and "Gold Lion" had the crowd dancing and singing along with every word, as did a stirring version of the band's MTV-conquering ballad, "Maps”, which Karen introduced as "our love song". Never one for reserved concert attire, the spritely lead singer emerged onstage in a gigantic robe of tinsel and a carnival mask. And with her fierce vocals and beer-spewing, microphone-swallowing antics, the crowd seemed compelled to believe Karen on "Cheated Hearts" when she sang, "I think that I'm bigger than the sound."Karen O and Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs rock out.As dusk set in, Interpol took the North stage; fittingly, as they are the reigning hipster kings of all things musically moody and dark. Things were kicked off with slow burner "Pioneer To The Falls", lead track on their latest album Our Love To Admire. Impeccably attired in defiance of the 90-degree temps and Baltimore's famed August humidity, the band set the bar for high fashion at the Virgin Festival. Along with angular licks on crowd faves "Slow Hands" and "Evil", lead guitarist Daniel Kessler rocked a black suit and tie, ala Tim Roth in Reservoir Dogs. Interpol provided a nice career-summing set, including early favorites like “Hands Away” from Turn On The Bright Lights. You could call it their unimpeachably cool stage presence, but these smashing young men could still learn a thing or two about how to engage an outdoor festival audience. Aside from the occasional murmered "thank you" from lead singer Paul Banks, Interpol barely acknowledged the gigantic crowd. Proof once again that Interpol is best enjoyed live in a cramped and dark NYC club, preferably after a line of cocaine.Carlos D of Interpol strikes the coolest pose he can think of.At 8:00 pm, the lights on the North stage went bright in anticipation of the reunited Smashing Pumpkins, helmed by originals members Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Corgan strode onstage first, wearing white scrubs and waving to the crowd with two hands pointing skyward. Joining him soon after were Chamberlin and newcomers Ginger Reyes (bass) and Jeff Schroeder (guitar). What followed was a setlist heavy with tunes from the Pumpkins' latest, Zeitgeist, including ragers "Doomsday Clock", "Tarantula" and "That's The Way (My Love Is)", which Corgan named as the band's next single. Zeitgeist bonus track "Death From Above", a plodding, uncharacteristic piano ballad, also made an appearance in the setlist. And of course there was plenty of older crowd-pleasing material from Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, including "Today", "Zero", "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" and "1979". "This next song was written when I was doing a lot of mushrooms," Corgan said as he introduced the trippy "Starla" from the Pumpkins' 1994 rarities collection Pisces Iscariot.Late in the evening, Corgan implored the crowd to buy Zeitgeist, jokingly cautioning, "Don't be afraid of the rock." Judging by the Pumpkins' reception, it didn't appear that too many Virgin Festival-goers were.Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin of the Smashing Pumpkins bring back the glorious 1990's.(All photos © Drew Fontaine)