Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday the headlining Smashing Pumpkins began to rock the stage at KFMA’s Fall Ball.

Thousands screamed and surged toward the stage as drummer Jimmy Chamberlain pounded the drum intro to “”United States.”” The intensity doubled as vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan joined the barrage slamming away at the opening chords to the song, stomping with each strum. Joined by a chorus of thousands of eager fans, Corgan shouted his war cry into the night: “”Tonight! I want to fight! I want to fight a revolution!””

As the set continued, the heat and claustrophobia in the audience became unbearable as dozens of sweating fans began to crowd-surf to the front to escape the frenzy. As the crowd was on the verge of collapsing, fans were met with a welcome surprise: cold drops of rain.

Flashes of lightning served as a backdrop to the pouring rain as Corgan wailed the lyrics of “”Tonight, Tonight.””

“”The impossible is possible tonight, believe in me as I believe in you, tonight!”” Corgan sang as he chuckled at the crowd desperately trying to drink the rainwater.

To the dismay of many, the rain caused the Pumpkins to delay their set before finishing in legendary form.

Prior to the performance, Cypress Hill bounced onto the stage, led by a mysterious cloud of smoke. Accompanied by a massive, inflatable, cannabis-etched Buddha, the band delighted the audience with well-known songs like “”Insane in the Membrane”” and “”Rock Superstar.””

The festival was also graced by the presence of hard rock band Operator, which thanked their fans by calling them “”motherfuckers”” and “”pussies”” through their entire set. Not only did the band assault the audience but it also appeared that vocalist Johnny Strong and bassist Wade Carpenter got into a tiff on stage when playful shoving appeared to become more serious and Carpenter walked off stage. Guitarist Paul Phillips filled the awkward gap with a “”soulcrasher”” of a guitar solo.

After the verbal abuse, the crowd was met with a stark contrast as the beautiful, fiery-haired punk-rocker Hayley Williams and her band, Paramore, took the stage. Williams used her cuteness to compliment the audience’s ability to dance and rocked out with a high-energy, fun-filled performance that had the audience jumping to the beat.

Against Me! and Silverstein also put on great shows, stirring mosh pits with singles like Against Me!’s “”Thrash Unreal”” and Silverstein’s “”If You Could See Into My Soul.””

Scary Kids Scaring Kids did a great job setting the mood festival as the opening act.

Aside from occasional storms of half-filled plastic beer bottles thrown into the air, KFMA’s Fall Ball this year was a reason to riot.