If you are just looking to make some noise you can probably get busy with your PA just fine. Many moons ago, before I got to buying a rig, I played at many an open mic with only a passive bass straight into the mixer. Was it the greatest bass sound ever? No. Did it entertain the bar? Yes.
The trick is to not try to get too much low end out of it. Low bass causes the PA speaker to work harder than its design purpose of amplifying voice and higher register instruments like guitars and whatnot.