Words by: Heidi Dixon
Photos by: Lucy Williamson (digital) and Emilia Mallett (35mm black and white film)
March has been mad! We’ve seen some monumental moments in music, with 90’s hip-hop legends bringing the West Coast to the South West. On the 11th, Ghetto Orange began the buzz at Princess Pavilion with Orange Fest, setting the tone for the likes of Souls of Mischief the next day, soon followed by the Pharcyde on Sunday the 19th and Monday the 20th.
Ticket demand for the Pharcyde was so high that — lucky for us — the Cornish Bank had to create an overspill for a second sold-out show the following night at Princess Pavilion. The crowd was an eclectic mix of OG fans who grew up with The Pharcyde, a few super-fans who brought the energy, but mainly students dominating the front row. It’s nice to see that 90’s music is living on through a new generation.
His EP might be called 5%, but Ghetto Orange brought nothing short of 110% to his opening performance. In usual lively form, Ghetto Orange was the vibe manager. He got everyone hyped up and moving as we all bopped along to ‘That’s Love’ and ‘Cool like this’. He regularly checked in with the audience, lifting the mood with ease.
The Pharcyde announced themselves offstage and were met with the crowd going wild. Fatlip, SlimKid3 and Imani jumped out onto the stage and went right into the set almost without pause, only breaking to change the lighting and show love to excited fans. The seasoned artists commanded the room and never missed a beat.
The highlights being the obvious bangers; ‘Passin’ me by’, ‘Runnin’, ‘Drop’ and not to mention ‘Ya Mama’. The evening was packed with memorable moments, from the group’s freeing and contagious dancing to one of the members even taking a handkerchief off someone in the crowd and wearing it as a bandana for the rest of the show! Iconic behaviour.
I think most of us are still scratching our heads as to why such a legendary American hip-hop group decided to stop off in Falmouth on their world tour but were honoured nevertheless. Hopefully, this means Cornwall is finally getting put on the map for musicians worldwide. We can’t wait to see what other antics this year will bring to Fal… or if they’ll be able to top this one!
Photo gallery by Lucy Williamson (below)
Photo gallery by Emilia Mallett (below)
The Pharcyde In Falmouth
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