Waiting for our drinks at the beer booth, I happened to glanced at another booth beside it and saw some Eheads memorabilas on display. Cds from past albums, buttons, posters, dvds from the reunion concert last year, and t-shirts greeted my wandering eyes as I approached the merchandise booth and decided to scope out the items on display.
Figuring that this concert would be the final one, I opted for the t-shirt instead as a souvenir.
I chosed a large black colored t-shirt which has some sort of different designs(I’m thinking a collage of some of their past albums and the likes).
I bought the shirt for 400php which is quite expensive, but I thought, what the hell,this is worth the price alone for being here at this historical event.
By the time I got back with the guys, the fourth song which I belive was “Maskara” blasted through the speakers in the venue.
We toasted on a successful event and for being a part of a legacy and milestone.
A few songs later, We heard Marcus on vocals, singing a reggae version of “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong” which came as a surprise for the audience.
Two songs later, Rayms took the microphone and did two rocking renditions of their songs “Alkohol” and “Insomnia” after being introduced by Ely. They ended their first set with Torpedo.
Second set started 20 minutes later and we were in with some surprises. The band played an acoustic set to try changing the mood in a different vibe.
First up,was my favorite trippy kinda song “Julie Tearkerky,” which I must say, was an impressive feat from the OPM fab four. Tikman ang Langit, Wishing Wells, and Fine Time followed suit.
Then, Jazz Nicholas played a very melodic piano intro sans the other members participation except for Ely,who then sang “Kailan” which got the crowd singing along with him.
After “Kailan,” Ely then said something about going back to past and then he launched into “Pare Ko,” which were met with lots of cheering and clapping from the audience.
Clearly, you can tell that both the audience and the band were having a grand time of their lives on this momentous night. “Back 2 Me ” followed suit and then one of my favorite song “Trip To Jerusalem” came next.
The band ended their second acoustic set with “Overdrive.” Another intermission followed which lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Then, with another helping of them brewskis, the familiar drum machine intro blared from the speakers and I knew right away it was “Super Proxy.”
Ely acknowledged this song by shouting “Francis,” paying tribute to their fallen comrade Francism.(For those who don’t know, Francism did the rap part on this particular nugget on the “Cutter Pillow”album)
Ely did the rap verse on the song and I was amazed on how he managed to rap most of Francis’ parts so well. ”Minsan” and “Alapaap” were the next two songs after ‘Proxy.
Then, in a surreal moment, Ely led the band in playing “Kalidescope World” which was a song by Francism. Videos of Francis M. started flashing on the huge screens and people were screaming and clapping.
It nearly brought tears to my eyes knowing the fact that our brother in music is on his way up there to meet our creator.
Touching moment indeed. Big props to MTV and the band for acknowledging Kiko’s accomplishments.
“Ang Huling El Bimbo” finally capped the night, signalling the end of the historic event.
During the last few bars on the song, Ely got a lighter fluid and proceeded to pour it on the piano infront of the drumset.(I read in some other blogsites that this particular piano was the same one used on the cover of the “Sticker Happy” album.)
I guess this is Ely’s way of telling us all that they are finally closing the Eraserheads chapter for good. We were then greeted with lots of fireworks and confetti as the show has finally ended.
After the song, the band then made a final stage bow together to the audience and then left. People started piling outside the gates, when out of the blue, Rayms was on the mic telling us “Bitin pa kame?” which indicated that he still wanted to play some more for the road.
People started clamoring for more songs which the band eventually gave in. They played Ligaya, Sembreak, and Toyang as final encores.
During “Toyang,” Ely, (sans his guitar) went down the stage carrying a microphone with him and letting the audience sing along with the song.
Then, they ended their set just like that. We went home with smiles on our faces knowing that even for one night, we were part of a very important moment in OPM history.
We ended up at 19 East bar somewhere in Sucat and decided to unwind before going home. True Faith was scheduled on the bill, but by the time we got there they already ended their set.
We opted instead to relax and decided to order some food. Toto then took us home since he needed to wake up early the next morning.
My uncle, John-John was still up since he was doing some recording stuff on his mini studio. We chatted for a few hours about music and recording stuff to cap the night.
We flew back to Cebu the next day on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
My thoughts about the whole trip?
A price worth paying and and a hassle worth remembering. I realized that we were part of history. A history that will surely be remembered for years to come.
A history, where 100,000 plus people of all ages and class trooped to the almighty MOA to witnessed one of OPM’s greatest band on the grandest stage of them all: “The Final Set”
These are the songs the band played that night:
1st Set
Magasin, Walang Nagbago, Maling Akala, Maskara, Poormans Grave Waiting For the Bus, Huwag Mo Nang Itanong, Slomo, Alkohol, Insomya Torpedo
2nd Set (Acoustic Set)
Julie Tearkerky, Tikman Ang Langit, Wishing Wells, Fine Time, Kailan, Pare Ko, Back 2 Me, Trip To Jerusalem, Spolarium, Overdrive
Encore:
Super Proxy, Minsan, Alapaap, Kalideoscope World, Ang Huling El Bimbo
Last 3 encores:
Ligaya, Sembreak, Toyang
* Big thanks to both Toto Ponce for the ride and for being our tourguide and to my uncle John-John Casteneda for the room and “Continental breakfast.”
Date: January 17 
roadworthyman
Some spankings and other rants from Planet Earth