'Inspired to come back': Eraserheads' grand return in 'Huling El Bimbo' concert

MANILA, Philippines — It's been over a decade since the Eraserheads all performed together in front of a Philippine crowd, but at their "Huling El Bimbo" concert last night, it was like no time passed at all.

Thousands poured into the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque to see Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro reunite to play some of their greatest hits.

Co-presented by PLDT Home, the concert anticipated the crowds and ensured proper entrances and pedestrian access were available, but the excitement to see Eraserheads live once again just couldn't be contained.

First set

DJ pair The Diegos were the opening act, spinning some old school jams for audiences waiting in the grounds such as Yano's "Tsinelas," Daft Punk's "Around the World," the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," and Francis Magalona's "Whole Lotta Lovin," which actually sampled the Eraserheads' song "Alapaap."

As it would turn out, the very first song of the night was "Superproxy" which Francis M collaborated with the E-heads — during the song, a visual rendering of Francis M performed the rap part alongside the late artist's son Elmo.

"It's been a long time. We've been to different places, seen different faces, and we're coming back to you," said Ely, clad in black with the rest of his bandmates.

The stage was filled with LED screens that filled with graphics for each song, and each segment began an animal logo; right in the center, hanging above the band, was their logo of a large inverted letter "E" which glowed different colors.

The band then sang in quick succession their songs "Back2Me," "Waiting for the Bus," "Fine Time," and "Kamasupra."

Fans were quick to notice that the band was actually performing the songs on their popular third album from 1995's "Cutterpillow," right in the order of the track list (Minor spoiler: the band saved the album's very last song for the end of the night).

The band then performed "Overdrive" against a blue backdrop with horses running around, and instead of the familiar conversation about food at the end of the song, the group instead played a slow beat that then transitioned to much harder ones.

Raimund took over singing duties for "Slo Mo" — though Ely mainly did the chorus — while "Torpedo" was a crowd-pleaser because of the fiery background that was playing during its performance.

The band toned it down a bit for "Huwag Mo Nang Itanong" with a kaleidoscope background, and it was at this point that Ely took off the shades he been wearing since the concert began.

Raimund again led the singing for "Paru-Parong Ningning" — with Ely and Buddy joining in — and the band followed it up with "Poorman's Grave" and "Yoko."

"How's everybody? Okay lang ba kayo diyan?" Ely asked all the sections from General Admission to Mosh Pit, throwing his jacket toward the latter because he claimed it was hot.

Ely finished the first set with a spotlight solo of "Fill Her," as the giant and now low-lit "E" raised upward and Ely encouraged the crowd to sing along with him the lines "Though I can't see you, can't feel you."

Second set

The Diegos came back during the 30-minute break between sets, followed by a performance by the University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad; a dance camera caught a sight of actress Sue Ramirez, who did her best to bust a move.

The second set formally started with clips of old photos, videos, recordings, and recordings of the Eraserheads playing on the LED screens, all to their song "Bogchi Hokbu" from their album "Sticker Happy."

The Eraserheads then performed "Pop Machine," and it appeared then they had all changed clothes to items that had hints of dark green and maroon (the colors of the band's alma mater, UP). Ely's tie, Raimund's complementary top and jeans, and Marcus' shirt and cap — Buddy was in blue-toned clothes, but the closest he had to UP was his guitar's red strap.

"Hello again, welcome to 'Huling El Bimbo.' Did you enjoy the first set? Intro pa lang 'yun," Ely told the crowd before introducing the people helping the Eraserheads perform in the concert such as Audrey Dionisio, Mikey Amistoso, Jazz Nicolas, and several cast members of the musical "Ang Huling El Bimbo" which featured the band's songs.

The band then played "Sembreak" and "Sabado," the latter Buddy reminded was their newest single which they released back in 2014, and even jokingly asked everyone to follow them on Spotify and Facebook.

An upbeat arrangement of "Ligaya" featured Mel Villena on a saxophone accompanied brass musicians. Buddy reintroduced Mel during the band's performance of "Lightyears" — a favorite of the four members — accompanied by a makeshift orchestra as the maestro helped arrange many of the Eraserheads' songs.

Ely's son Eon and another of Francis M's kids Arkin joined the band for "Saturn Return," played against another kaleidoscope backdrop, followed by the Eraserheads handling "Maling Akala" on their own against a washed paints backdrop.

Buddy then performed a spotlight solo of "Tama Ka," and before doing so said, "Medyo special [ito] kasi sinulat ng aking now partner in life, mas na-enjoy [ang song] lately," referring to his wife Earnest Mangulabnan-Zabala.

"It's great to be back here on stage, with all of you. You've inspired us in the darkest times of the pandemic... inspired us to come back. This is for all of you," said Ely as the band performed "With A Smile" — the touching song was only made more beautiful by the winter orchard backdrop and individuals raising their light sticks and phones.

Things suddenly took a quick turn as fire was blasting on stage during "Insomnia," then Gary Valenciano joined the Eraserheads to sing "Christmas Party." In true "Mr. Pure Energy" fashion, Gary even played drums and bongos set up for him beside Ely.

The second set ended with "Spoliarium" featuring a more haunting guitar solo by Marcus, and "Magasin" which Ely let the crowd sing the first and final verses, much to their excitement.

Final set/Encore

After a short break and quick change of clothes, Ely took the stage alone and began fiddling with his guitar; he even tried riffing Extreme's "More Than Words."

Eventually, Ely began the notes for "Pare Ko" and the "E" logo was raised once more. Soon, other members joined in.

"Pare Ko" has always remained popular among fans because of the curse words in the lyrics — even celebrity couple Karylle and Yael Yuzon were caught swearing on camera — and it was the crowd shouting "tangina" rather than the band; Raimund sang the song's second verse with a wine glass and phone in his hands.

"This has been an amazing journey for us. Thank you for making it happen. It's time to look at the future, we're done with the past. Look at your friends and say 'I love you'," said Ely, joking that everyone also say "peace be with you."

A band mix-up led to reintroducing everyone again on stage, eventually, the Eraserheads settled on performing "Minsan" with the orchestra string player stepping in for the song's instrumental parts.

The group then played "Alapaap" against a scarlet cloud backdrop, and the crowd was once again involved in the singing, almost like they belonged with the band.

As expected, the night's final song was "Ang Huling El Bimbo" — which Ely encouraged everyone to sing along to, including Karylle and Yael who popped up on screen again — and it was made more powerful by the presence of the orchestra.

The "E" logo was lowered back and fireworks erupted during the song's famous outro, even continuing after song ended; while the fireworks blew up and yellow streamers scattered, the band threw mementos in the crowd, gave a final bow, and hugged on stage.

Some attendees lamented that even with 31 songs performed, the Eraserheads weren't able to play other crowd favorites like "Huwag Kang Matakot," "Toyang," "Harana," "Para Sa Masa," "Maselang Bahaghari," "Julie Tearjerky," "Fruitcake," "Hard to Believe," "Kaliwete," "Trip to Jerusalem," "Shake Yer Head," "Tindahan ni Aling Nena," "Kailan," and "Hey, Jay."

Additionally, though several fans understood, the band did not play any songs from their album "Carbon Steroxide" — even "Maskara" — which was the last one they did together before parting ways in 2002. 

But if Ely's words are to be believed, the fans made it possible for arguably the Philippines' biggest band to reunite and perform once more, so there can be hope that all the Eraserheads will grace a stage for Filipinos again; a world tour for 2023 was announced, anything is indeed possible.

Just as "Alapaap" goes, "Hanggang sa dulo ng mundo, hanggang maubos ang ubo; hanggang gumulong ang luha, hanggang mahulog ang tala." — Photos by Mong Pintolo, videos by Krstofer Purnell

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