Seattle's $240 million Experience Music Project officially opened with a crash on Friday as Paul Allen, the Microsoft multibillionaire who spent big bucks to create the interactive rock and roll museum, imitated his hero Jimi Hendrix and christened the museum by hurling a glass guitar to the ground.

An estimated 120,000 people swarmed the Seattle Center grounds over the weekend to rock out to Metallica, Eminem, Kid Rock, Dr. Dre, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Filter, and the legendary James Brown.

For the crowd, the allure was obvious, with No Doubt, Beck, Matchbox 20, and the rest rolling into town for what could be the summer's biggest concert. For the bands, however, the benefits in helping Allen launch his interactive rock dream were numerous. Some came to be part of history and hobnob with fellow chart heavyweights; others came to check out EMP's bold new digs; and still others were in the market for a paycheck.

For some, like Kid Rock, the high-profile gig afforded them a chance to flex the stage muscles that'll get a workout on some of the summer's biggest tours. "We've gotten really tight as a band, and my voice feels really great," Kid told MTV News' Kurt Loder at the event. "We're singing and playing well, so I always do a lot of antics and make it fun for people, but I think I want to make a lot of the focus on the music. I think it's time, really, that we start getting some raw talent back into music rather than a lot of manufactured stuff you see from a producer, an engineer, to a writer." [RealVideo]

For fans, the weekend-long extravaganza packed maximum pleasure with relatively little pain, as no major injuries were reported. The concert also served to introduce Seattle to its newest attraction, and the city seemed to welcome it warmly. "I think it's the best thing to happen to Seattle since the World Fair in 1962," Seattle resident Lynn Etchison told MTV.com's sister site SonicNet. "I've been waiting for something like this. It's amazing. I'm going to come a lot during the summers. You have to experience it."