There Will Be Tons of Surprises, and an Easter Egg, at the Eraserheads Reunion Show

The last few days of 2022 couldn’t get more epic for the music scene in the Philippines. You have bands coming out from a long break like Loop doing a reunion tour all over Visaya-Mindanao, K-pop giants Seventeen and Super Junior coming over and making their Filipino fans ecstatic, homegrown folk-pop icons Ben&Ben staging their first-ever headline show, and, of course, still to come, “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” the monumental reunion show of arguably the country’s biggest band, Eraserheads. 

After the show was announced last September, news quickly spread the thrice-in-a-lifetime reunion show. Taking place on December 22, the concert will feature the return to the stage of the four original members of the iconic band: Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro.

ALSO READ:

The Eraserheads, As They Were

An Abrupt End: Looking Back at the First Eraserheads Reunion Show

During a press conference for the show at the Dolphy Theater, ABS-CBN Studios, which also served as a rehearsal studio, all four expressed nervousness and excitement. Unlike a small bar gig at Mayrics or even Club Dredd, the show is taking place at one of the biggest festival venues Metro Manila: the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque City.  

h

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eraserheads Huling El Bimbo Concert 2022 (@hulingelbimbo2022)>p

>p“Huling El Bimbo” will be directed by Paolo Valenciano and spearheaded by show producer Francis Lumen. there will also be an orchestra conducted by Mel Villena. Organizers say the Eraserheads’ “final reunion set in the Philippines” won’t disappoint the thousands in attendance and the many more expected to livestream the show at home all over the world. Surprises include a holographic Francis Magalona appearance, a special Gary V. guest appearance, and a couple of deep cuts the band has never played live before. It’s expected to be the longest set the band will play in its history. >pMarasigan described the 30-year journey of the Eraserheads as something he didn’t expect. >p“The journey was sketchy,” Marasigan said during the presscon. “Somebody mentioned [the orchestra] in the first meeting and we thought it was funny and Francis (Lumen) was serious. We’re not sure if we’re going to pull it off but it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be dangerous”>pBuendia added that he believed the band’s songs have actually improved years after the recording, helping extend the life of an alternative rock band in the 90s. >p“I thought I would be sick of the journey by now but so far it’s been full of surprises,” Buendia said. “But again even though we’re a small band from Diliman, we had our punk roots to begin with, most of our songs kasi are super layered. There’s lots of guitars, of course being true blue music fans, we also dabbled in orchestral arrangements and I think this is the first time we’re going to be able to play the songs as intended.”>pZabala then responded with the additional orchestra that acts as one of the main centerpieces of the concert. >p“I experienced it this afternoon in the practice. Tumayo yung balahibo ko” Zabala said. “Because real instruments could do that. It’s a real great orchestra. Mel Villena is a great conductor. We’ll all see it on December 22.” >pIn an Eheads concert, you’d expect high-octane energy and heavy crowd participation all the way from the back to the mosh pit section of the reunion concert. Marasigan admitted that the band members’ age is a factor (all are in their 50s), but insists they still plan to give it their all. >p“Hindi nakakapagod, pero napapagod kami physically because we’re not as young as we used to be,” he said. “But we can’t help it. When you play rock ‘n roll, you can’t just play 20 percent. It always has to be 110 percent or you won’t be rock n’ roll. The crowd gives us something. The band gives us something. The music gives us something. It’s a lot of good energy” >pConcert director Paolo Valenciano, who is the son of another OPM icon, Gary Valenciano, asked everyone to turn up the excitement to one hundred on December 22. >p“I think it’s quite surreal to be asked [to be involved] in a project like this,” Valenciano explained. “I grew up watching concerts. I grew up watching my dad’s concerts, and ever since nagka-influx ng foreign shows dito, a lot of these shows, I found out later on na a lot of the gear, a lot of the tech are supplied by local suppliers. So ever since then, I think it was 15 years ago, I started wondering: if these foreign shows are supplied by local suppliers, how come we can’t mount shows like that? Ever since then my goal was to at least match up with them in terms of quality and experience for the audience. In terms of the global stage we put together for the band. It’s something na I feel you guys would feel really proud–that it’s Filipinos who are putting this show together. Basically locals who are mounting this show. >p“There’s pride there that kaya natin mag-mount ng show at an international standard,” he added. “Everyone involved in the production team, yung mga writers, all the way to the cam ops, the visuals, the LED, and everyone else, is passionate about this project. I mean, we’re always passionate but everyone in the production are Eheads fans, kaya parang feel namin lahat ng dinaanan namin, all of the projects, it has led to this moment. Whatever happens on December 22, things won’t ever be the same with everyone involved. It’s very personal for everyone.”>p>p

The setlist

When asked about what they were going to play, Marasigan said the setlist has evolved in different ways based on the demand from fans.  

“We worked a lot on the set that changes every week,” he said. “Every week we get a text, we get a change. It gets better, at least for us.”

The setlist itself is also a challenge since they haven’t played together in more than a decade. 

“We haven’t played in a long while together and we haven’t played a lot of these songs ever even when we were recording them,” the bassist said. “A lot of the songs would be a surprise, would be different from us. It would be an exercise for us.”

Adoro also hinted at a surprise Easter egg in the show for the fans keen on watching the show live.

“There’s actually a hidden mickey in the entire show that only the hardcore fans will be able to decipher,” Adoro said. 

h

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Eraserheads Huling El Bimbo Concert 2022 (@hulingelbimbo2022)>p

 >pMarasigan also commented on the dynamics that are to be expected in the show. >p“For the first time, we get to do all the parts live,” he said. “So there’s extra guitars, pianos, strings and horns that we only managed to perform in the studio. But with the help of friends, especially with people like Mikey (Amistoso) of Ciudad, there’s Jazz (Nicolas) of Itchyworms, Audrey (Dionisio) of General Luna, and Mel Villena who orchestrated some of it and most of our albums, and that’s nine albums. That’s a lot of songs. And we’re always choosing the best ones for the set. They’re not going to be the best songs that we have, but they’re going to be the best songs for this show, and it’s going to be sick.” >p“Ang swerte ng audience na napapanood nila kami live kasi kami di pa namin napapanood kami live,” Adoro added with a laugh. “With all of the spectacle [waiting on December 22], wow.” >p“I’m not too religious but being with EHeads is one of the blessings in my life,” Lumen, who is producing the show, said. “Thank you EHeads.”>pA few tickets are still available. Get them here. >p