♫ ♪“Ngunit kung sakaling mapadaan baka ikaw ay aking tawagan dahil minsan tayo ay naging tunay na magkaibigan.”♫ ♪
I tell you this, whichever part of the world has a Filipino you’ve got someone who’s singing the songs of the Eraserheads.
With the music of the Eraserheads, it was as though the band lit a metaphorical rock ‘n roll candle whose light got passed on to Filipinos everywhere. As was clearly evident in the concert last Saturday, the passing of that light is not about to stop. All 100,000+ fans who were pumping their fists that night at the MOA sent across a resounding message: Thank you for the music, Eraserheads! Your legacy will keep on going through many generations even long after your last song has been performed in The Final Set. (A few hours after the concert, loads of videos were posted in YouTube, blog updates were also posted and experiences shared literally across the world.)
Last Saturday’s concert was an extremely sentimental affair. And how can it not be when your imaginary barkada who’s always understood you in your best and worst times is bidding you goodbye? You agree to join the farewell party no matter how it tears you inside because you know you’ve also got so much to thank them for. You realize that the least you could do is pay tribute by being there and help give them the best punctuation for a glorious career shared selflessly through music.
You go to the venue because you wanted to show your gratitude to the Eraserheads and support them in the next chapter of their journey. You want to wish them well. And yet you want to savor every moment of your last chance with them, too. Just this last time, you wanted to let loose and be one with your imaginary barkada while you try to cleave off as well. You worry, as a matter of fact, that something beyond your control will turn this final set into a disaster. What if somebody gets sick again? What if the sound system screws up? What if the sponsors turn this sacred event into a joke?
Or, what if SMART and MTV were too unbelievably tacky that they’d shamelessly plug themselves every single chance that they’d get with repetitive and worn out advertising style? What if SMART and MTV were too incredibly greedy that you could almost tell very clearly that the reason they were sponsoring this event was primarily for them to make loads of money and only secondarily because they believe that the band and its fans deserved this closure? What if MTV decides to have its VJs open the concert by reading more vapid advertising off of some sheets of paper even though it was obvious they didn’t know half of what the band is all about?
You hope that the band finally comes out rockin’ with Magasin, for example. The letter Z pops on the screen and you find yourself trying to remember your alphabet backwards. And then the inverted E, some pyro and before you know it the band bursts into Magasin.
Your night has officially brightened up and your worries laid to rest!
In the sea of crowd you see the band members reduced to a few inches in your sight. Tears start to well up while your smile’s from ear to ear. You find yourself screaming, jumping, singing… going nuts, basically! You look around you and you realize you’re not alone. In fact, there’s 100,000+ of you doing the same thing. And then you get lost in the moment, nothing else really matters now. Your imaginary barkada is happy. You are happy. You both had your closure and are ready to move on. Goodbye Eraserheads and thank you, thank you sooooo much for everything!
Moments:
• Anne Curtis saying Tindahan ni Aling NENE – FAIL!
• Poorman’s Grave and Waiting for the Bus – back to back! WIN!
• Chika ang inabot ko – Marcus singing reggae version of Huwag Mo Nang Itanong may accent pa LOL!
• When asked for a group hug – Ely saying “Kayo muna!”, Marcus saying, “Ha, sinong bruha?” – WIN!
• Ely’s piyoks – classic!
• Fine Time acoustic
• Eh mejo pangit ka pa ‘non, HANGGANG ngayon! Hahahaha!
• The pink Hello Kitty guitar
• Ely burning the Sticker Happy piano – perfectly symbolic
• Buddy looking at Raimund pag merong parang mali sa sound
• Raimund singing Alkohol, Slomo, Insomnia
• Ely asking the crowd to either sing, raise your hands, sayaw, or talon! Ang saya!
• Wishing Wells! Whoa! Really loved this and I didn’t expect they’d play it kasi di naman naging super hit! Para sa hardcore fans talaga yung concert
• Kailan sang by Ely with piano only. Parang recital o kaya American Idol kase blue yung lights. Nakakatuwa!
• Pare Ko – Wala na I lost it here, tuloy-tuloy na yung pag iyak ko nito
• Minsan – finally when they sang Minsan may halo nang sound effects yung iyak ko. (♫ ♪ Mababaw lang talaga ang luha ko♫ ♪)
