It was NOSTALGIA... that is one word I could describe what happened that day. It was perfect for me, a crazed Eraserheads fan that already put them on a pedestal because I adored them so much. They were god like for me...(pardon sounding blasphemous) but OMG it was all I ever asked for in one sitting.
We started the day meeting at Starbucks MOA...it was a hot Saturday afternoon and as people would always see...its lotsa traffic. I met Arpee and Bheng (mah officemates) then Gian and Leo came too. I was dragging my foot along because I got my ankle sprained a few days ago. I was even limping yesterday for entertainment purposes (magaling ako umarte) wahahhaha. But MY GAD HIGAD it was painful and that was not even half of it. I ordered Mango Passionfruit as always then cooled off a little, then we headed to the MOA Concert Grounds. We walked there so it was a daunting task for my foot hehe... At 4PM, throngs of fans already lined up and guards, bouncers and epals were there to greet them. Security was tight since they did not allow water bottles, food, professional cameras, unattended kids, hookers, GRO's (weh sayang!). I was told there was food inside the venue, little did I know I was in for a surprise. I didn't know how inconvenient it was to eat there. Since we were there for hours, we needed to do that. I bought double cheeseburger from McDonalds but they returned my money because they didn't have it yet. I opted for 2 cheeseburgers instead. I was looking for something to drink and there was a Coca Cola booth beside that, when I paid up they immediately put my Orange Juice in a plastic cup, it didn't even have a cover! Now imagine how am I going to keep that drink alive until the concert when people could literally nudge my arms and spill that all over others? What's more appalling is the thought of them not giving away the bottles... have you seen anyone die of a plastic bottle? unless they know how to swallow and put rocks on em there probably would be...Go figure!
Aside from that, we say along the rails and boundary of the Silver A area together with Gian's friends from philmusic.com and talked about what to expect in the concert. As funny as it sounds, we needed to do that for a couple of hours since we were there early to get the best seats. I was annoyed at a few kids beside me who went there with their Mom I think. I mean, if you can't handle your 3 kids why the hell should she bring em there right? They were the first ones I saw that smelled like ARAW even if it was already 6PM... I despise the place for being filthy. Why in the world don't we have a place that could seat a lot of people... we need one for big concerts like that. Good thing we were by the bay... at least there was a breeze coming in every few minutes, otherwise we all would have suffocated from human scent. You know what I mean? c^^,)
So the day became night and it became darker by the minute. We watched the lights go up, while some literally blinded us on purpose. At about 6 or 7 PM a girl suddenly wanted to make her way to the front and make SINGIT... she didn't even asked permission from the people who already were there. I was making nasty jokes about her already but she stood ground as if she never heard anything. She even looked at me evily as if she thinks I'd never tell her about it. Hahah.. I dared her to look at me again that way but she didn't.... I could have been the next Chris Brown because aside from my hurting ankle..she was freakin annoying me too. Good thing she fell short of what she planned to do and went away from our position... people even clapped and laughed about it hahaha. Weird...but I still hate that girl heheh... How I wished I could smash somebody's face on the rails! After those annoying incidents, at about 7PM a fireworks display erupted at our back...people thought it was for the event but I know MOA does that every Saturday before the mall closes. Aside from that, people were already waiting for the big event!
8PM struck and there was no countdown no nothing that happened, they were late obviously.... so after a few more minutes of waiting, 4 VJ's from MTV arrived. People were waiting too long to listen to them.... almost everybody boooed them....hahaha there were hecklers everywhere... I on the other hand was cracking jokes because I was bored and tired waiting of course! I was also anticipating some kind of countdown before they start... but that did not happen at 8PM... we waited a while until the video started. OMG this is it...the event that I was waiting for... wait... it was not counting down minutes or seconds.... it was the alphabet backwards!
Everybody chanted Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F then an inverted E *lightbolts sound* then the music started....and the first song? It was "MAGASIN"... I thought they were gonna sing OVERDRIVE but that came in on the second set I guess... Here is the rest of the set list:
1st Set:
Magasin
Walang Nagbago
Maling Akala
Maskara
Poorman's Grave
Waiting for the Bus
Huwag Mo nang Itanong
(Marcus on vocals which literally made everybody crack up on his own funny version.... I want that album published now! I was laughing so hard with Marcus... he ought to have a novelty song album of some sort. That would be a great idea to produce!)
Slo Mo
Alkohol
Insomya
Torpedo
It was nice! I felt everything fell into place and I was in heaven! All the tiredness and my hurting feet was gone (of course not! hehe) I was just starstruck by them. The band that I waited for a long time was just a few steps from where I am. Oh! What a night! The 2nd Set came in and lo and behold they came in with a whole SALA SET... they were all there while Ely introduced us to their new BAHAY... heheh... then they played everything in acoustic....MTV unplugged style!
2nd set:
Julie Tearjerky (acoustic/unplugged )
Tikman ang Langit (acoustic/unplugged )
Wishing Wells (acoustic/unplugged )
Fine Time (acoustic/unplugged )
Pare Ko (acoustic/unplugged )
Kailan (acoustic/unplugged )
Back2Me
Trip to Jerusalem
Spoliarium
Overdrive
Not a single person left the concert grounds after Ely thanked the crowed. We were all so bitin we were waiting for what comes next after that spectacular idea of having everything performed in an unplugged version. I'm sure with Marcus and Raimund singing a few songs on their own, Ely has indeed rested to rap this particular concert up! I was not disappointed!
The encore was about Filipino king of Rap Francis M. so Ely even asked everyone to raise their hands... and clap... and jump for this great man who opened an era of Rap music for a country who hungered for it.
Encore
Superproxy (tribute to FrancisM)
Minsan
Alapaap
Kaleidoscope World (tribute to FrancisM) (reprise)
Ang Huling El Bimbo
Sparks flew at our back and a lot more fireworks were lit at the stage. There was enormous amount of confetti on front for everyone to see that this setup was not just for local consumption. By golly the whole place was filled with confetti that parts of the stage was covered literally we can't even see em anymore. It was a very nice cheesy way of ending everything. After everything ended... Ely went to the stage's center and poured a healthy amount of lighter fluid on the PIANO from the STICKERHAPPY album. I was so sad to see that musical instrument burning at the stake and Ely even kicking it literally breaking each piece as it collapses to the ground. The end of a beautiful foursome years just flashed right in front of me. I was struck by the fact that everything will end here.... yes I was so sad to have to end it that way... but like any story... theirs had to end too.
Ely Raimund Marcus and Buddy then succumbed to everyone's request for a group hug.... and a group BOW too... It ended with Ely stating "Ladies and gentlemen, we are THE ERASERHEADS!". Then he threw his shoes when they went out... and almost his socks too.... I would have scrambled for that too hahaah!
Everyody went on their way out.... of course it took a few minutes before they could do that.... until somebody spoke on the mic stating "Hoy.... ano? Nabititin ba kayo?" and I said WHOA! HINDI PA TAPOS! Everybody was surprised and went back to the venue... some of them were literally outside already... they had to go back because as Ely said it.... THIS IS 3 FOR THE ROAD!
Then they played for the last time:
Encore 2:
Ligaya
Sembreak
Toyang
It ended again with Ely stating "Ladies and gentlemen, we are THE ERASERHEADS!". That was just a good ending... but no matter how many times this band try to end it... I as a true fan would never end my dream... that someday, somehow, someway.... I'll still get the chance to watch THE ERASERHEADS once more.
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