ERASERHEADS: The Final Set

We saw. We airbrushed. We conquered.

We were part of history. Only after the concert did we fully comprehend the throves of people that watched the show. Bong (Threelogy) had awesome pics on Facebook, panoramic shots of the crowd, complete with the awesome fireworks display. But the view from the front of the house wasn’t bad either. Madge and I were scuttling back and forth from Ely Buendia and Raimund Marasigan’s dressing rooms for pre-concert, intermission and post-concert down time. At one point Madge couldn’t find her airbrush gun amongst our stuff apart from being stuck in Raimund’s dressing room when fans decided to mob them for autographs. It was a great experience and all thanks to respected and esteemed director Juno Oebanda (our backstage photog also) for hooking us up with Diane Ventura, Eraserheads’ producer and manager. This was truly one of the highlights of our lives.

FINISHING TOUCHES ON ELY

ELY CHECKING HIMSELF OUT

RAIMUND GETTING AIRBRUSHED

SAY Eeeeeee!

Direk Juno, Ely & Diane

SHOW TIME

AFTER PARTY WITH ELY

AT THE AFTER PARTY W/ MARCUS & BUDDY (Mimi & Karl are there too in the back!)

Backstage photog: Direk Juno

Showtime photog: Madge Lejano

After party photog: Dino Lara

Got this from Gia Lara’s Blog (Dino Lara’s Sister) www.passionistta.com

Eraserheads - This band’s music made such a big impact in the Philippine music industry. It is wrong to say that they were just a band. It is unfair to say that their songs were merely, just songs. The Eraserheads, although they disbanded years ago, still affects people with their timeless music.

On March 7, 2009, the Eraserheads came together again to perform their much-awaited “Final Set”. For what seemed like the longest intermission since their reunion concert last year was cut short due an unforeseen circumstance, the Final Set was carefully planned and organized to make it as memorable as possible.

Indeed, it was memorable. It was immensely satisfying knowing that they weren’t really great playing live when they were still together. And they knew that. On an interview before the concert, they said they will try their hardest to perform like never before. They surely did. Ely, Buddy, Marcus and Raimund have grown and their individual pursuits amplified their skills resulting in a masterfully refined performance. If I’m not mistaken, I believe they laced some of their songs with very subtle mixes of techno (almost Daft Punk), Strawberry Fields Forever by the Beatles, Jump by Van Halen and With or Without You by U2. Apart from that, the Final Set had fireworks, pyros, confetti and a piano set on fire. These surprises were perfectly executed and I love that they were beyond our greatest expectations. And as if the surprises weren’t enough, they came back to perform three more songs when people thought the concert was over (in fact some were already outside the concert grounds).

From tasteful renditions of songs, a pink Hello Kitty guitar to sneakers, guitar picks, drumsticks thrown about, and personal pictures and videos taken, we all went home swelling with pride. I wished the people sang more and jumped more, but I guess at this day and age of blogs and Youtube, people are so into recording moments. My brother, who is the biggest Eraserheads fan I know, beamed like a kid on Christmas day. I’m actually thankful he was that addicted to the band because I didn’t have to review the songs since Eraserheads music was like air in our house. I really believe in the importance of doing your homework in knowing at least most of the songs, that way you’ll notice the slightest changes and the real effort of such geniuses in putting on an epic show. Actually, even noticing the inevitable disorientation and forgetting lyrics, it is all part of the show. The band is composed of humans after all. It adds to fun and makes you chuckle. To me, this is one of the best concerts I have been to.

More than just a concert, it was a celebration of great Filipino music. We also paid tribute to our master rapper, Francis M. who died days before the event. At one part of the concert, we shouted his name and sang the chorus of his extraordinary song Kaleidoscope World while waving our hands in the air. Hence, Tribute 3.0’s kaleidoscope design. Here’s to genuinely passionate artists. Thanks for giving us walang humpay na Ligaya (never-ending happiness) through your music.

Notes:
Photos by Dino Lara and Madge Lejano