The Eraserheads: The Reunion

Aptly titled The Reunion, the Eraserheads’ concert at The Fort Open Field last Saturday was an experience of intense nostalgia – the good and bad times, times when you got silly drunk singing “Pare Ko,” your high school and college girlfriend/boyfriend, learning to play the guitar for the first time, those crazy road trips while playing “Overdrive” and a lot more.

The importance of the Eraserheads in the Philippine music industry can only be understated. To many, they are the most significant Filipino band ever. While my knowledge of Filipino music is limited to those that I got to hear (a tad of 70’s, the 80’s to present), this much I can tell you: Eraserheads was my generation’s voice. Of all the Pinoy music acts that have come and gone, it’s only Eraserheads that I can say was spot on in speaking of my youth! The rest were off by a huge mile.

Eraserheads’ music was Pinoy through and through minus the dramatics that Pinoy music seems to get saddled with by default. And like I told Marcus as we walked back to the parking lot: We may not yet fully understand how great the Eraserheads is coz we were part of their music and we’re part of that generation which they represented. The next generation will be the ones who will get to fully understand their greatness. But we, we are the ones who will have the stories to tell of each of their songs.

Most of the Eraserheads’ fans comprise of the young professional workforce who during the early 90s were in high school struggling to find their place in the world and in most cases afraid of what the world has to offer them. Like a time machine, the concert transported me to those times of fear and confusion peppered with zits and a pathetic fashion sense. Many years after, having transformed into a corporate drone, I find myself listening to the same music and telling myself, “Holy f*ck, this feels so unbelievably good!”

The last time I saw the band live was during those times when small talk in between songs was something that they reluctantly and awkwardly did. Those times, Ely’s vocals was borderline whiney, pitchy and sometimes off-key. That night though, it felt as though I saw them in their best form. The guitar works, the drums, the vocals – everything was just on the spot.

We missed the first three songs but not without a purpose. While we squeezed ourselves in the mad sea of crowd, the band burst into “Hey Jay,” to which I turn to Marcus and say, “Geezuz! They’re singing ** ****!” We snickered.

And then, the rest of the night was bliss. 1. Alapaap 2. Ligaya 3. Sembreak 4. Hey Jay 5. Harana 6. Fruitcake 7. Toyang 8. Kama Supra 9. Kailan 10. Wag Kang Matakot 11. Kaliwete 12. With A Smile 13. Shake Yer Head 14. Huwag Mo Nang Itanong Sa Akin. (15. Lightyears, too but can’t remember which part)

With a fist raised high I found myself singing along with the band and surprising myself that I still knew the lyrics to each of the songs they played. It felt so frikkin good, I almost burst into tears when they sang “With A Smile” remembering my college girlfriend and how I played the guitar for her while singing this song.

By the time they played “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong Sa Akin,” I was so pumped that I was literally screaming for more of the hits of my youth: Pare Ko, Magasin, Huling El Bimbo and Minsan. Alas, they put out a 20 minute countdown screen signaling the end of the first set. After the 20 minutes have transpired, which felt like forever, Buddy came up on stage with Ely’s sister Lally who read a statement saying that Ely had to be rushed to the hospital due to fatigue and stress. Last year Ely had to undergo an angioplasty procedure and two days before the concert he lost his mother to heart failure. Compounded by the physical stress from the rehearsals, Ely experienced chest pains after having done 15 straight songs.

I guess that’s how things really are: sometimes we can never have too much of a great thing. The greatest trip down memory lane took all of 15 songs – enough to remind us that there’s more to look forward to and as we go along, we will always have Eraserheads’ songs to remind us that once upon a time we were just kids playing the guitar in the footsteps of some high school somewhere.

Postscript:

On the way to Cuisine for a few drinks:

L: Dude, that’s like total rockstar drama! Imagine, collapsing or dying in your own reunion concert!
M: I know! If he’s gonna go, this is probably the best time for him to go. Right smack in the middle of his own concert!
L: Morbid, but I hear ya! I don’t understand, he’s too young to be this unhealthy, man!
M: It’s lifestyle, dude. That’s some wake up call for everyone. It’s funny how this concert seems to be like the story of my life, too: Full of promise, but always falling short of expectations.
L: Or in my case, being in a seemingly good place but not really coz there’s too many wrong things inside. Hmmm, let’s go get some drinks!

Ely’s fine and is now under observation. Photos courtesy of Kim.