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Electric Arena, Saturday 3rd September, 11.00pm

Describe in a Tweet:Ìý Brought the noise, hype was disregarded and we all struggled for power together.

What happened: Usually with bands who've been performing on and off for the good part of a quarter century, there's an expectation that, hmmm, they might just phone it in, collect their big cheque and ride off into the sunset. Or even worse, subject a festival crowd to new, experimental and usually questionable unheard material. Luckily Public Enemy are neither of these bands.

What they are, is incredibly proud of their hip-hop legacy. With roots in the civil rights movement, and sampling everyone from Buffalo Springfield to James Brown on the way, Chuck D, Flava Flav and Terminator X proceeded to give County Laois a history lesson and a showcase of some of the finest music to come out of Black America over the past 25 years.

Chuck D found kinsman-ship with the Irish crowd, dedicating Fight The Power to the 'endless Irish struggle', and drawing comparisons from the English riots. "Don't trust your government", he announced before kicking off the AC/DC mashup Black Is Back.

Flava Flav, at the age of 52, still rocking the novelty clock, proved to be the gunpowder at the end of Chuck D's slow burning touch paper. He was everywhere; riling the crowd, playing a bass solo, climbing the rig, playing a drum solo and finally, after the Dons of hip-hop had rattled through their back catalogue (Can't Truss It, Fight The Power, 911 Is A Joke, Terrordome, Bring The Noise, Don't Believe The Hype), he was talking racism and peace with the crowd.

Public Enemy might have their best years behind them, but if they're able to recreate in the same memorable way their performance at EP, they'll still be a relevant force in hip-hop for years to come.