N.E.R.D. Welcome Stage Invaders at Virgin Festival

Reaffirming that hip-hop acts have all the fun, Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D brought the house -- or in this case amphitheatre -- down during their lively set at Day Two of Toronto's Virgin Festival.

After a perfunctory but flaccid performance by California indie-rockers Cold War Kids, Pharrell and crew -- including Toronto's own Rhea -- raised spirits and booties with a riveting, hit-saturated set.

After opening with 'Anti Matter,' the band repeatedly ordered the crowd to "stand up" and, using the age-old strategy of pitting section against section in a who can make the most noise contest, worked the capacity pit area into a frenzy before launching into 'Rock Star,' off breakthrough album 'In Search Of...'

Not satisfied with simply getting the crowd to their feet, the energetic frontman invited two waves of rowdy fans onstage to pogo along with him. The first wave consisted of rather intoxicated male fans which, while entertaining at first, quickly wore out their welcome and were promptly replaced by a gaggle of giddy girls who proved more than willing to personify the lyrics to the band's 2001 hit 'Lapdance.'

While the rest of the set saw Williams and crew regularly dodging sloppy kisses from female stage invaders, they did manage to break out 'She Wants to Move' before briefly teasing 2008 single 'Everybody Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)' -- rapped over the White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' no less -- and walking off to a standing ovation.