Ang Huling Pag-El Bimbo

I wasn't able to watch the Eraserheads Reunion Concert last year. Though it was cut short due to Ely's condition, I still felt a tinge of sadness that I wasn't there. I contented myself with watching their performances via YouTube and reading about other people's experiences. Wawa. Hehe. So when the announcement of a Final Set concert was made, I told myself that I wouldn't let this one pass me by. Hehe.

Franz and I were supposed to buy the concert tickets a month ago. But when I was transferred to the Denon project, I got a bit hesitant to make the purchase. I wasn't sure if Boss Mags would suddenly require me to render overtime work on a Saturday. Waah.

A week before the concert, a survey regarding the company outing was passed around the office. Jen was the only one from Denon who indicated that she's going. Boss Mags told us that if our reason for not going is the possibility of a Saturday work then he's declaring March 7 as a No-OT day. Weeee! Still not going to the outing but I'm definitely going to see the Eraserheads! Woot! Woot! ^_^

It was a last minute purchase and surprisingly, there were still a lot of tickets available. I guess 'twas because of the incident last year. And with the recent death of Francis M., I couldn't help but think about the possibility of it happening again. But with high hopes that Ely's in a better condition and that he wouldn't let his fans down a second time, we bought two Gold-A tickets!



The day has arrived.

I had an appointment with my dentist at 1pm. Franz and I reached the clinic a little past 1. I was late again but this time, Dra. Rolyn was not yet in. Good thing. Hehe. Watched Startalk, which featured the death of Kiko. I felt really sad watching the show. I remember when I was a kid, I memorized the lyrics of most of his songs. From "Tayo'y mga Pinoy tayo'y hindi Kano!" to "Mga praning mga praning mga praning-ning!" Hahaha.

Dra. Rolyn arrived a few minutes later. She wasn't able to start working on my teeth immediately. We both waited for the commercial. Even when I was already seated inside the room, she would still stop for a while and watch TV. Funny how she really gets irritated everytime BB Gandanghari is on. She told me that she was crushing over Rustom before and now he's more malandi than her! Nyaha. It was almost 3pm when I got off the torture chair.

We've commuted a number of times from Manila before and we would easily hail an FX going to Cubao. But this time, all the FX seemed to have disappeared. When we considered riding a cab, they too were nowhere to be found. After waiting for an eternity, we were finally able to ride an FX. Whew!

As expected, the MOA concert grounds was packed. Good thing we arrived a bit early so when we entered the Gold-A section, there still weren't much people. Bought ourselves some refreshments. Then we saw a display of Eraserheads shirts being sold for Php400. The design wasn't as astig as the one I'm eyeing from Team Manila but it was cute nonetheless. Doodles will always be cute. Ahihi.

It was only past 6pm and according to the tickets, the concert starts at 8pm. We got two hours to burn. What to do?! What to do?! Haha.



At around 8pm, MTV started showing a video rerun of their interviews with Eraserheads, which ran for about 15 minutes. They talked about their inspirations in their music and their goals as a band. And it's funny coz they all looked so young and ok with each other. Hehe. Then there was this part where they were asked to answer a question. It went something like, "If you ruled MTV for 24 hours, what would you do?" Actually, I can't quite recall what their answers were except for Marcus'. He said he would change its name to MarcusTV and play all his home videos and transfer the money to his name. Haha. Parang adik lang talaga.

The countdown started. The alphabet was shown in reverse, from Z down to E. Then the concert grounds shook as the crowd went wild! Ely, Raimund, Buddy and Marcus were once again seen sharing the same stage! FINALLY! Woot! Woot! ^_^

(¯`·._.·FIRST SET·._.·´¯)
1. Magasin - "Medyo panget ka pa non... hanggang ngayon!!!"
2. Walang Nagbago
3. Maling Akala - "Maliit na butas lumalaki! Konting kuskos, ayos!"
4. Maskara - One of my favorite songs. Sooo glad they sang it! Hehe.
5. Poor Man's Grave
6. Waiting for the Bus - Wee! Another one of my faves! After the song, the crowd shouted "Group hug! Group hug!". In which Ely replied, "Kayo muna!" Hahaha.
7. Huwag Mo Nang Itanong - ASTIG c Marcus! Haha. He did a reggae version of the song and he was really funny. Jazz Nicolas of Itchyworms manned the drums while Raimund played the cabasa. "Pagdating ko sa bahay, ibaba ang 'yong kilay, ayoko ng kilay mo! Wag mo nang itanong, wag mo nang itanong, at di ko sasabihin sa'yo!"
8. Slo Mo - Vocals by Raimund. At one point, Ely sang with him and they posed side-by-side for a few seconds. Sweet! Haha. Another thing, Marcus used his pink Hello Kitty guitar! Ahihi. Cute!
9. Alkohol - Again, Raimund was on vocals. I really enjoy watching him perform on stage. Whether he's holding his drumsticks or a microphone, he's just so full of energy! 'Twas like I was watching Sandwich. Haha.
10. Insomnia
11. Torpedo

For the second set, the band went acoustic. Everyone was seated comfortably. To let Ely rest, I guess. Hehe.

(¯`·._.·SECOND SET·._.·´¯)
1. Julie Tearjerky
2. Tikman - Ely serenaded us with his guitar and lovely voice singing, "Halika tikman ang langit...". I eagerly accepted his invitation and it was heaven, indeed. Ahihi.
3. Wishing Wells
4. Fine Time
5. Pare Ko - Classic.
6. Kailan - Ely did the lounge version of the song with Jazz on keyboards. It was sooo beautiful; I had goosebumps.
7. Back2Me
8. Trip to Jerusalem - I was reminded of Frannie and Bobo the Wiseman and their breathtaking game of Trip to Jerusalem. Hehe.
9. Spolarium - Love love love this song too!
10. Overdrive

The last set was a bittersweet tribute to the Man from Manila, Mr. Francis Magalona. Rest in peace.

(¯`·._.·LAST SET·._.·´¯)
1. Superproxy - Another favorite! Kiko was supposed to join the band on stage for this song. Unfortunately, he succumbed to leukemia a day before the concert. Before the song, Ely encouraged the crowd to chant Francis' name in his honor. "Francis! Francis! Francis!"
2. Minsan - Despite Ely's stoic expression, one could still feel his sadness as the following words rolled off his tongue: "Sana'y wag kalimutan ang ating mga pinagsamahan. At kung sakaling gipitin ay laging iisipin na minsan tayo ay naging tunay na magkaibigan." Now that's a message. :(
3. Alapaap
4. Kaleidoscope World - They only sang the chorus part of the song. Some video footages of Kiko were shown in the screens. Sad, sad. T_T
5. Ang Huling El Bimbo - During the final minutes of the song, Ely started pouring some lighter fluid on the Sticker Happy piano and then he set it on fire! Literally! Astig. Finally, the band took a group bow that totally brought the house down. Ely threw his sneakers to the crowd and jokingly motioned to take off his socks too. Haha. We thought it was the end of the concert. We thought.

Franz and I proceeded to buy water from one of the booths near the entrance. While waiting for our turn, we suddenly heard Raimund asking everyone if they still want more! Hell yeah! Haha. The crowd started calling out for all the band members and in no time, they were all back on stage. Everyone was running to get a good spot. People from the Silver section even knocked the metal railings down. I guess it was too much for the bouncers to handle so they simply assisted those who wanted to get closer to the stage. Riot! Haha.

(¯`·._.·THREE FOR THE ROAD·._.·´¯)
1. Ligaya
2. Sembreak - Ely forgot some of the lyrics of the song. Ahihi. He skipped the second stanza then wondered why the song ended too soon. "Walang kayakap... tapos na ba?!" Hahaha.
3. Toyang - Ely went down the stage to spend some time with the fans. He also passed around the mic to give them a few seconds of fame.
Ely: "Makita lang ang kislap ng kanyang mga mata, ako ay busog na."
Tim Yap: "Pen pen pen!"
Audience: "BOOO!!!!!!!"
Nyahaha. Sablay! Ely couldn't help but have a good laugh at the guy's expense. Hehe.

I'm sure that nobody wanted the night to end. But as the expression goes, some good things just don't last. Awww. To the Eraserheads: Thank you for sharing your music with us! ^_^



"At ngayon di pa rin alam
Kung ba't tayo nandito
Pwede bang itigil muna
Ang pag-ikot ng mundo?"
--- Spolarium, Eraserheads