Singing in the Rain (With Rob Hyman)

If standing in the Malkin Athletic Center Quad with a few hundred students in the rain while enduring an interminable delay and the self-imposed humiliation of Undergraduate Council President Rob Hyman didn't make you want to leave Spring Fest, then the pedestrian performance of the Pharcyde almost certainly did. From the moment they finally ran on stage, Imani, Booty Brown, Fatlip, and Slimkid 3 sang nothing as interesting or impressive as the two Harvard-based freestyle rap groups that opened up for them.

What the Pharcyde did provide, however, was good background music for a mellow dance party. And although the Pharcyde got the crowd moving to the bass beats and rhymes despite the cool, rainy day, almost any hip-hop group could have made the crowd dance. The group never really formed a definitive sound; when the Pharcyde had little innovative or exciting talent to explore, the concert failed to satisfy the listener.

Despite the lackluster performance, there were a few fun moments in the concert, like the catchy intro chants ("Do that shit! Funky shit!") that got the crowd involved. When the group urged the crowd to scream "Let's pack the pipe," Harvard students went along with it, chanting louder and louder. If Dean Lewis was watching, he probably had a nervous breakdown. Just the thought of that was more entertaining than anything the Pharcyde offered.

Reminiscent of the opening bands, the singers broke into freestyle rap, energizing the monotonous songs. Some people from the audience, who were more excited than others, joined the Pharcyde on stage and rapped along, showing that the crowd could be excited despite the band's uninventiveness.

A creative imagination was needed to keep the show somewhat entertaining, especially to dull the Pharcyde's annoying behavior. Between songs, they plugged their two albums Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia relentlessly. They seemed more interested in making money than performing well for an eager audience. If for every time they mentioned the albums they gave the crowd a couple minutes of good music, the concert would have been a highlight of the day rather than the bittersweet ending to Spring Fest.

The Pharcyde ended the major part of their set with the single "Runnin,'" a good choice to leave a positive memory for the audience. What sets the song aside as a radio hit is the amazing harmonization that gives it a kick. But the group followed in line with the rest of the mediocre set by not even singing the harmony--a disappointment to say the least. This part of the song was left to a recording.

Sadly, the Pharcyde returned to sing "Somethin' That Means Somethin'" for the encore. The song, with its repetitive lyrics and music, closed the concert with monotony characteristic of the concert.

As the group left the stage, people may have wondered why the Council went through a human rights controversy, money considerations and other problems to get the Pharcyde. Probably because they thought they were doing what was best for the students and, deceivingly, the Pharcyde seemed a good choice. A press release describes the Pharcyde as "one of hip-hop's few originators." Whoever wrote this little lie must have smoked as much marijuana as the band had before the performance. The Pharcyde is an ordinary hip-hop group with a few songs that made them popular. The live performance revealed little extraordinary talent and disappointed the people who were expecting a refreshing hip-hop experience.