Post Event: The Eraserheads final set concert

Mar 08

ErinReviews, Rubbish 10 Comments

Yesterday we went to the Eheads concert held at Mall of Asia concert grounds. Looking back I am torn between liking and hating the event based on various personal reason.

    The Positive

  • The ticket was free. Technically my wife bought the silver tickets but I didn’t spend a single cent for them. 🙂
  • The energy of a concert crowd, much more a very passionate one, cannot be matched by viewing a recorded video.
  • It was nice to see the ‘heads back again. They already grew old but some of the antics that endeared them are still there.
  • Most of the songs in the set were from the Circus and Cutterpillow albums which IMHO are the best albums they have ever released.
  • The crowd was singing to every song so the fact that the band keeps on changing the lyrics of their songs adds a refreshing twist to the performances. Marcus’ reggae rendition of “Huwag mong itanong” was very entertaining.
  • Since the venue was a reclaimed area, there was a slight breeze that occassionally blows into the crowd area, which alleviates the heat and humidity.

    The Negative

  • The traffic going to MOA was horrible. The traffic when we went home was even worse. Typical of Manila traffic I can’t figure out the cause of such a traffic jam when every vehicle is driving along the same direction.
  • The venue (specifically the silver and bronze sections) was literally filled to capacity. This triggered my utter dislike for places where there are too many people. It is not really agoraphobia but I really, really hate crowded spaces which is why I don’t go to sale events if I can help it.
  • Some people are downright inconsiderate. Two notable examples are the people who smoke with disregard that not all people in the concert are smokers, and those ladies who sit on top of their boyfriend’s shoulders and effectively block the view of those behind them.
  • The stage was too far from where we were that the people in the stage were like an inch tall. We viewed the concert mostly from the large screens placed strategically around the venue. The effect is like viewing everything from a large TV screen.
  • Only the VIP section have seats (or so I thought until Paeng corrected it in the comments 🙂 ). Which effectively killed all the feeling I have on my legs and lower back. The lucky few were able to indian-sit but when I tried that my ankles hurt more.
  • We forgot to buy drinks when we entered the venue and it was neigh impossible to move from our location during the set break. My thirst was already killing me that I found it very hard to enjoy the concert when it resumed.
  • The event was too heavy with advertisements. Streamers and banners are one thing, viral multimedia on the wide screens and speakers are another. There is only so much repetition of ads can the audience take.
  • As a whole, we spent 11 hours for a 2.5 hour concert.

    Personal Notables

  • Organizers and sponsors should really think twice about feeding hosts to a bored mob that has been bombarded by the same set of advertisements for hours. MTV fielded 4 VJs (Anne Curtis, Kat, another female VJ that I don’t know and a guy) and the mob was killing them. Anne was relatively unscathe but the guy bore the brunt of it. I can’t even understand what the guy was reading off his advertisement clipboard due to the boo and hoots coming from the audience. A couple of hecklers on the silver area have even started a chant for him: “Wag kang iiyak” (“Don’t cry”). I almost pitied him but for the fact that my feet are already killing me from waiting 3 hours standing up for the concert to start.
  • Ely Buendia is not the best vocalist when it comes to live perfomances but still an E’heads concert is an E’heads concert.
  • The strain between Ely and Raimund is pretty obvious. Near the end, they had a misunderstanding that was pretty evident especially since there are screens that are devoted to tracking the movement of each band member. Buddy was evidently the mediator of the group.
  • Never ever fight the mob. The woman who sat on her boyfriend’s shoulders learned that the hard way when she tried fighting the jeers of the people whose view she blocked. She made the mistake of rationalizing that she cannot see anything because of her height and she paid for her ticket. Those same reasons applies to the people she is blocking.
  • I was disappointed that Marcus didn’t smash his Hello Kitty guitar. 🙂

All in all, I don’t think I will be going to another standing slot only concert any time soon. But I will always be an Eraserheads fan.

ciao!