A reunion to remember

After only fifteen songs, the reunion concert of the Eraserheads last Saturday was cut short when lead singer Ely Buendia had to be rushed to the hospital for a still unspecified condition. He reportedly collapsed backstage after singing his last song. Ely has a heart ailment. Almost two years ago, he suffered a heart attack. With the pressure of this reunion concert, with the previous promoter's problem with the health department, and definitely also due to the death of his mom just two days ago, it was all probably too much for Ely to handle. What was supposed to be a 20-minute break went on too long. Finally, Ely's sister Lally came up onstage to tell the audience about what happened. A one-minute silence was observed for Ely's fast recovery. And after that, we clapped.

It was a short but memorable show. Ok, the Eraserheads were never a great live band. Never. It was always about the songs. For many Filipinos, this was the equivalent of The Beatles or The Smiths reuniting. Fans were willing to wait in line to buy not very cheap tickets because it had been ages since those songs were sung to them by one of their musical heroes. The concert was virtually a sing-along. There were times when the audience sang more lyrics than Ely. As usual, Ely looked bored onstage, singing with his shades on, no chemistry whatsoever among the members, but it had always been like that since they became famous. As I said, the fans came for the songs, and they, WE, weren't disappointed. And now that apparently he really was not feeling well, we are ready to forgive as always, not that it is asked of us. Frankly, we would have paid more for less than what we got. Just to see them again together singing those songs would have been enough.

The set list:
1. Alapaap
2. Ligaya
3. Sembreak
4. Hey Jay
5. Harana
6. Fruitcake
7. Toyang
8. Kama Supra
9. Kailan
10. Huwag Kang Matakot
11. Kaliwete
12. With A Smile
13. Shake Yer Head
14. Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
15. Lightyears

The second set we did not hear:
1. Maskara
2. Poorman's Grave
3. Torpedo
4. Trip To Jerusalem
5. Back2Me
6. Maselang Bahaghari
7. Maling Akala
8. Tikman
9. Spoliarium
10. Magasin
11. Para Sa Masa
12. Overdrive
13. Pare Ko
14. Minsan
15. Ang Huling El Bimbo