While it may just have been celebrating Spring's long-delayed coming, this year's Springfest didn't pretend to be anything else. Bronstein Week concluded Saturday with the annual concert on the Great Lawn, featuring five bands playing back-to-back, running a whole gamut of genres: ska, rock, hip hop, blue, folk, salsa, funk and pop.It didn't matter that for most of the WBRS - and Student Events-sponsored afternoon, the acts- Illscarlet, MC Paul Barman, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Dr. Octagon and Ozomatli-were more background entertainment than main attraction. Throw in sun, food, beer and lots of swag, and Springfest was a party that no Brandeis student could ignore.

Despite having the unfortunate luck of playing first, The Toronto-based Illscarlet played an excellent blend of ska and pop-their sound undeniably resembling, if not fully emulating, Long Beach dub all-stars, Sublime. The sound was somewhat repetitive; the band worked its small crowd well, playing upbeat versions of "I'm Walking on Sunshine" and "Caress Me Down." By the end of the set, more people had shown up, and the atmosphere had gone from "Why am I here?" to "Wow, this seems really cool."

The second act, the Jewish rapper MC Paul Barman, is a legitimately unique voice in the hip-hop world despite his Jew-fro and whiny-sounding voice, his hilariously crass lyrics and a clumsy, yet playful flow. And while his reputation is solid, his performance here was not. After being irked by lackluster crowd participation during his first few songs, a notorious problem at Brandeis events, Barman tried to go political: He resorted to a spoken-word spectacle that felt more like a motivational speech at a corporate convention than hip hop. Even some of his old classics, like "Joy of your World" and "Cock Mobster" lost the energy they captured in the studio.

Ultimately, the opportunity to engage in activities such as "Find the Clit" and "Throwing Condom Balloons" in Student Sexual Iinformation Services's sex olympics-stationed at the back of the Lawn-seemed more appealing than listening to Barman talk about them.

The concert really hit full swing when Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the first of two main stage acts, started to play. By this point the afternoon had hit its stride. The Lawn was full of people eating, drinking and largely chilling; a relaxed atmosphere overtook the lawn. Grace Potter's success drew from the fact that her music is perfect for just that atmosphere. The band didn't ask for much from the crowd, their cool blues offering a perfect complement to the hot first day of spring.

Dr. Octagon-the alter-ego of the legendary rapper Kool Keith-represented the inevitable mid-late afternoon lull for the show. Almost 30 years after its birth, old-school hip hop is really an acquired taste; if you're not committed to the genre, then you probably won't appreciate it, and regardless of what anyone says, Brandeis is not big on rap. Despite his small audience, Dr. Octagon reminded us, just as Naughty by Nature did, that some acts simply should not be brought to Brandeis. So little attention was paid to him that Ozomatli started its sound check before Octagon finished!

Ozomatli was, like their opening theme suggested, Springfest's A-Team. The Los Angles group is best described as a fusion of hip hop and salsa; they incorporate Spanish-style brass and multiple layers of percussion. Simply put, you can't not dance to it. Ozomatli asked a lot of its crowd but, unlike the other bands, they got what they asked for. In addition to their own material, they adapted a few classics in their own style: "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Stir it Up," to name a couple.

As an event, Springfest '07 was a big success. The weather was wonderful. It was a great day of food and fun in the sun, with some good music on the side. But as a concert, it may not have been worth the money and effort to bring these bands to campus when-for a crowd more content to chill than dance-a DJ would've gotten the job done.