“Every generation has it’s own soundtrack”, muses Ely Buendia in one of the video clips shown before the concert. He added that kids today have the same problems, same aspirations as their predecessors. Dubbed as The Beatles of the Philippines, The Eraserheads held their final set last March 7, 2009 at the Mall of Asia grounds. The show was witnessed by a hundred thousand fans of all ages; The ‘Heads crossed over to different generations, each with their own personal relation to Eraserheads songs whenever and wherever they heard it for the first time.

 

There was some skepticism however; some people felt that it was organized too quickly than the last one. Not even a whole year since the reunion concert last August 30, 2008, I personally had mixed feelings, wondering if I should go and get my much needed closure as if from a first love albeit the chances of disappointment. There was a possibility that you may not have that whirlwind romantic encounter with the music, not as exciting as the one before. The option for me was to keep a good memory of a magical moment in time, like a great love that was cut short, in exchange for hearing the songs that were never sung, the words that were never said… and The End; or just claim it all in one standing, in one good night’s show.

All love is meant to be mundane at one point. With three sets in total, the concert was very well paced. It wasn’t as against-all-odds heart wrenching as the first time, but generally it was a memorable night because all the members took their collective steady time playing, as if savoring every note. It was after all The Last Gig, The Last Dance… Ang Huling El Bimbo.

The very first song was “Magasin”. Then the band surprised everyone when Markus Adoro did lead vocals for a reggae version of “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong”. Raimund Marasigan got off the drums and sang three songs, “Slo Mo”, “Insomnia” and “Alcohol” (During the second set the audience cheered for Buddy to sing. Eventually he sang one line from “Fine Time” ‘Basta’t kayakap ka ay okey’).

The second set had them all seated in a living room set-up with lamps, carpets, a wooden chair and a sofa , perfect for the acoustic treatment of the first five songs. Ely sang solo with Jazz Nicholas (Itchyworms) on keyboards; singing “Kailan” and the band went back on stage after that with their electric instruments

The third set picked up the pace with “Superproxy” as the first song. Then after “Alapaap” a familiar tune was played. They sang a short bit of “Kaleidoscope World” while images and videos of Francis Magalona (who died the day before the concert) was shown on the video screens. Everyone sang in unison, arms waving in the warm Manila Bay breeze, to pay homage to a great musician, a good friend of the band and apparently Ely’s best friend.

Then the song everyone’s been waiting for, “Ang Huling El Bimbo” was capped off with Ely Buendia burning and jumping on the piano that was used in the cover of Sticker Happy. There were fireworks in the sky as people danced and sang and felt that pang of sadness, as this is the first and the last time they were going to hear this song sung together by the Eraserheads.

A large crowd had already left, including us when people told stories of an encore of three songs “Ligaya”, “Sembreak” and “Toyang” as Ely went down to the crowd and had some people sing lines from the song.

It was a bittersweet ending as most kinds of closure goes. It was said in the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona that “Unfulfilled love is more romantic.” Some hesitated to put a period on this musical sentence, but most wanted a last encounter, as we all believe that all good things must come to an end eventually.

ERASERHEADS FINAL SET SONG LIST:

1st set:

Magasin
Walang Nagbago
Maling Akala
Maskara
Poor Man’s Grave
Waiting for the Bus
Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
Slo Mo
Alkohol
Insomnia
Torpedo

2nd Set:

Julie Tearjerky
Tikman
Wishing Wells
Fine Time
Pare Ko
Kailan
Back2Me
Trip to Jerusalem
Spolarium
Overdrive

3rd set:

Superproxy
Minsan
Alapaap
Kaleidoscope World
Ang Huling El Bimbo

**Ely apparently threw his shoes to the crowd.

ENCORE:

Ligaya
Sem Break
Toyang

Posted on 20 March 2009 by Nina Sandejas in Events, Music

Tagged ely buendia, the eraserheads, the final set