As the summer concert season comes to an end, the best one just happened to be one of the last.Everything from the perfect sunny weather to the audience and performers contributed to the most memorable concert in hip hop history, as the reunited Rage Against the Machine headlined the last of their four Rock the Bells appearances. The event, which took place on Saturday, Aug. 18 in the McCovey Cove parking lot, brought together a diverse group of 45,000 fans ranging from backpackers and hipsters to metal-heads, and everyone in between. The all-day festival ran from 11 a.m. until around 9:45 p.m., with a very impressive lineup of who’s who in hip hop’s past and present genre.The first performance of the day was from one of underground hip hop’s finest acts; Jedi Mind Tricks. The group, fronted by Vinnie Paz, was exactly what the crowd needed to kick off the ten-hour long festival, as they bobbed their heads throughout the short twenty-minute opening set, while still trying to adjust to the festival’s atmosphere.Next up on the bill was Immortal Technique, who was most definitely the most politically outspoken act of the day, and that’s saying a lot considering who else was on the lineup. Every song he performed dove deep into left-wing political views that mattered to him. He was not only there to entertain, but to spread political awareness as well. With songs such as The Point of No Return, and Harlem Streets, the crowd connected and felt every word that came out of his mouth.Pharoahe Monch backed by a complete band and backup singers worked the crowd well with great interaction and stage presence. He had the whole place jumping to his 1999 hit; Simon Says. With his hard-hitting delivery and lines like “get the f*** up!” who wouldn’t be jumping?The next act to take the main stage was EPMD, one of the best hip hop groups to emerge from the 80’s. Unfortunately, they took the stage at the same time the Paid Dues Stage was starting to attract a big portion of the crowd with Sage Francis. Complete with a wig, obnoxious language, weird dance moves, and over-the-top antics, he entertained the crowd the only way Sage Francis can, closing off his set with Dance Monkey from his 2005 album, A Healthy Distrust.Murs was the next act scheduled to play the Paid Dues Stage; however, on the main stage, Talib Kweli had already started his set, overlapping Sage Francis. Jean Grae, the only female emcee at the whole festival came out as a special guest to drop a few verses with Talib Kweli, who also performed with Mos Def as Black Star. The performance saw Mos Def get down from the stage to get involved more with the crowd, which was very well received by the audience in the front.At around 3:25 pm, and halfway through the day, the Roots took the stage with a 45-minute set. Although still a great live show, it was the time of the day that everyone was just anticipating the next act. The majority of the audience gathered around the main stage at this time to witness the legendary Public Enemy, who had their entire crew with them up on stage. Everyone at the venue knew who Public Enemy was, and if not, they recognized one of the most interesting characters in hip hop; reality TV star, Flavor Flav, who came with his trademark clock hanging from his neck. With anthems such as Fight the Power, it was so far the most energetic performance of the day, as both Chuck D and Flav delivered their rhymes flawlessly and seemed to enjoy themselves on stage, as they made it their own by running around, tossing their mics in the air, and getting involved with the crowd. The 45-minute set was complete with a guest appearance from Scott Ian of Anthrax to rock out on guitar to the rap-metal fusion hit Bring the Noise.As a giant inflatable golden Buddha was blown up on stage, everyone knew who was coming up next. It was Cypress Hill, and with the request of B-Real, this was the part of the show where everyone brought out their pipes and blunts and smoked until clouds hovered over everyone’s heads, as he himself lit up a joint on stage. The group put on an impressive show and were crowd pleasers from the moment they walked on stage until the very last song. The set included their hits Insane in the Brain, and How I Could Just Kill A Man, and closed with (Rock) Superstar off their platinum-selling album, Skull & Bones.The moment Cypress Hill left the stage, anticipation started building up, people tried squeezing their way through tight, sweaty crowds trying to find the perfect spot on the floor. The crowd started throwing up their “W” signs in the air as the stage crew started rolling out the DJ booth which had a Wu-Tang Clan logo with the words “RIP ODB” spread across the center. As if that wasn’t enough to serve as a tribute, the whole Clan, minus the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard brought out his son on stage, as Method Man led the crowd to a huge “ODB” chant, followed by a rendition of ODB’s solo hit Shimmy Shimmy Ya. Halfway through the set, they were joined by Redman to perform Da Rockwilder with Method Man, receiving a huge pop from the crowd . The group was also joined by System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian to handle bass duties. Their hour-long set included C.R.E.A.M., Shame on a N****, and Triumph among others.Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the moment everyone has been dying for, the only rock band to grace the Rock the Bells stage, Rage Against the Machine was up next. The whole crowd erupted in cheers as the band went straight into the opening song Testify. Mosh pits broke out, people jumped, they cheered, and climbed poles and scaffolding to try to get a better view. The band was spot on, and Tom Morello continued to prove that he is one of the greatest guitarists of all time with his uncanny ability to make turntable-like sounds with his guitar. The mayhem that lasted for about one-hour and twenty minutes included all their hits starting with Testify, and closing with Killing in the Name. It was the most intense performance of the night, and the crowd felt it, as they gave back the energy the band presented stage.After a long, sweaty day and $80 tickets well spent, the entire audience exited and flooded the streets of San Francisco, continuing the chaos Rage Against the Machine had left off. As the thousands of fans in the attendance would agree, Rock the Bells was the perfect way to end the summer.