Flinging in the rain with Tyga, Girl Talk and Janelle Monae

Students’ Fling spirits were not dampened by the bad weather this weekend.

This Friday was Social Planning and Events Committee’s annual Spring Fling concert at Franklin Field that featured a lineup of Tyga, Janelle Monae and DJ Girl Talk.

Those who attended the concert said they had a good time despite the downpour that began during the middle of the concert. At one point, Monae commanded the audience to crouch, and as she lowered her hand, a wave of people sunk.

“She was really energetic,” College freshman Melissa Ramirez said. The concert was really fun, “especially because of the people I went with.”

This year’s concert was not without controversy. Some took issue with Tyga being invited to perform because of his misogynistic lyrics. Additionally, students were unhappy with the selection of Girl Talk as the headliner and chose to go to Villanova University’s concert instead which featured DJ Alesso.

While the number of ticket sales has yet to be publicized, Villanova’s concert was sold out for the first time in several years because of the influx of Penn students.

At the end of Monae’s set, rain began to fall. People on the floor and bleachers both rushed into the relative dryness of the concourse of the stadium. Many left before Girl Talk came on. “The concert was really fun at the beginning. I loved Tyga and Janelle Monae,” said Sarah Katzin, a College sophomore who left the concert because of the weather. “But then unfortunately it began to rain and it ruined it.”

But those who did not leave were in for a good time.

The DJ lit up the soaking, cold crowd with a mix of pop music from the past five decades. While Rick Ross’ voice blared through the huge speakers, a backing Beatles track played. Girl Talk’s hype men dropped huge balloons filled with confetti and blew toilet paper at the audience constantly.

“It was a lot of fun, especially after the rain,” College freshman Peter Bryan said. “Girl Talk was a lot of fun, and staying was definitely worth it.”

College junior Janie Yurechko, who danced on stage with Girl Talk, said, “It was the best Fling concert I’ve ever been to, mostly because of that.”

“I wish I would’ve been on the floor for Girl Talk,” Ramirez added.

The next day, the festivities continued around campus. The Quadrangle hosted a carnival on Friday and Saturday, though Friday’s rain dimmed the fun and few people came that day. Saturday, though, was a sunny day. Lines to get into the Quad stretched up and down Spruce Street.

“The weather on Friday pretty much ruined the quad… but Saturday was a lot of fun,” College junior Tanya Thanawalla said.

SPEC Jazz & Grooves hosted a long list of performers, including student groups, on two stages in the Quad Saturday. The high-profile DJ Gigamesh, whose name had floated around as the Fling concert headliner, performed, as did many others, from Autre ne Veut to the band Delorean.

“I think it went great,” College sophomore Dominic Watson, co-director of Jazz and Grooves, said of Saturday afternoon. “Probably the happiest mosh pit I’ve ever seen.” Watson also pointed out that attendance was highest when the Gigamesh came on in the lower Quad stage.

“The Quad was really fun,” Thanawalla said, citing the Mask & Wig and Strictly Funk performances.

Engineering junior Irene Jadic, a member of Jazz and Grooves, worked to manage the concerts. “Working the concerts was awesome and so rewarding,” she said. “All of the acts we brought killed it, and everyone seemed to be having a blast.”

The celebrations continued Saturday night as the festivities moved from the Quad to College Green where students lined up for free desserts and dinner from food trucks. Others rode a mechanical bull or just danced to the blaring music.

Staff writers Alyssa Berlin and Laura Anthony and Associate News Editor Lalita Clozel contributed reporting.

A previous version of this article reported that Delorean is a DJ and Autre ne Veut is a band. In fact, Delorean is a band and Autre Ne Veut, while a solo musician, performed as a band on Saturday. The DP regrets this error.

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