Right on the edge of hysteria

HIP-HOP zealots The Fugees represented on the mic for all their Irish fans last night and the delirious crowd at Dublin's Point Theatre gave it up for Lauryn, Pras and Wyclef, the million-selling, rapping threesome. However, the adoration of the teenage audience almost spilled over into mayhem, and the security crew worked overtime to pull overcome kids out from the milling front rows.

The first Irish gig by America's latest hip-hop sensations began with some acrobatic scratching, the DJ showing his skill and dexterity at the decks, getting rapturous applause before the band even came onstage.

First to appear was Wyclef, who launched into a rap overture of The Fugees' best-known lines before picking up the electric guitar and doing some Hendrix moves, teeth and all. No Woman No Cry was the first full song, and it ended with a Black Power salute, the signal for Pras to strut down the steps, backed by a large backdrop of world flags. "Hey, I heard I couldn't make it!" he teased the crowd, but to everyone's relief the lady herself was borne onstage shoulder-high, to thunderous applause.

Lauryn improvised some rapping odes to Dublin, and at this stage I was beginning to wonder if The Fugees were ever going to do another complete song, but soon the trio went hell-for-leather on How Many Mics, taking turns at some fast and furious raps. Fu-Gee-La was more melodic, but it brought the crowd to the brink of ecstasy, especially when Lauryn switched to singing mode.

It's hard to forget that nearly all Fugees' tunes, even Ready Or Not, are taken from other sources, but it's easy to forgive when Lauryn puts the borrowed melodies to such good use. Zealots uses a nice doo-wop backing to pump up some old-fashioned soul, but Superfreak is a mere cover version, a rapping karaoke song.

At one stage in the show Wyclef urged the crowds in the balconies to stand up, no doubt giving the safety people a headache; but when he decided to hold a stage diving battle with Pras the headache turned into a full-blown migraine. Killing Me Softly kept the crowd on the edge of hysteria, and when Lauryn climbed down to the front for a raucous live remix of Ready Or Not she was surrounded by frantic security people trying to cope with the crush.

The hit version of Ready Or Not was the real showstopper, opening with helicopter sound effects and ending in fireworks. It could have ended in serious injury, but God must have been watching over his refugee children last night.