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NEW BLUE SHOCKER

Monday, March 23, 2009

None of us were prepared for the news. What we thought was a simple announcement turned out to be the shocker of our lifetime. Totally blindsided. OMG is totally an understatement.


After some discussion, we all had to leave the room and back to our work and pretend everything was fine. Despite our sensibilities, we couldn't help but wonder if things will just go downhill from there. We took time off to calm ourselves down. Then we had to bounce right back. A wise man told us, we can't control the recession, but we control our own destiny. Either we worry about the unknown, or continue facing the known, continue moving forward.

There are no guarantees, specially not in these trying times. For someone like me who is used to charting my own path, I could face a situation where I'm left with little choice. And I have to be prepared for that fact. That no matter how much you plan in life, some things just happen. And you can't let these things throw you off course completely.

For now, I have a wide range of opportunity still ahead of me, and I intend to milk it till the last drop. Tough times don't last, but tough people do :)

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HMMM....

Friday, March 13, 2009

Not sure if I'm just too smart, or they are all simply stupid :p

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The Final Set - Aftermath

Monday, March 09, 2009

*picture "borrowed" from Chuvaness... they were just too cute, I couldn't resist :)


1:30 PM - I woke up after 4 hours of sleep. My nephew advised me to go to MOA early because traffic might be bad.

2:00 PM - Still at home watching TV. The local TV shows had all sorts of tribute to FM and I stayed glued.

3:00 PM - I had to go shower. My nephew was already at MOA waiting for me.

4:40 PM - I arrived at MOA and proceeded to National Bookstore to claim our tickets. I caught a glimpse of the venue and saw that people had started to line up to go inside, and boy was it hoooot!! 

5:00 PM - We went to Delifrance to grab "lunch".  I tried their 4 cheese pizza (my all time favorite flavor next to pepperoni :)), and it was yum! We decided to wait till sundown to go to the venue, and besides, the concert wasn't set to start til 8PM! :)

6:00 PM - I had drowsed off the in Delifrance couch, even after drinking coffee.. I psyched myself to gain more energy because I didn't want to have a fainting spell again (the Boracay experience was too traumatic)..

6:30 PM - We decided to check out the venue from MOA. Took pictures of the beautiful skyline (the colors were amazing, sayang we should have hung out at Mojito bar na lang pala.. howell)...

7:20 PM - After stashing away some of our things in the car (and for some dumb reason, I changed my flats to my 4-inch wedge sandals, haha!), we walked to the venue. The VIP area was still relatively uncrowded, and we went to the nearest place to we could manage to squeeze our butts in.

7:40 PM - The MTV VJ's  - Ann, Kat, Andi (and a guy), came out to do some sponsor announcements. They read off from a piece of paper, and yet they couldn't say it right. Hanuba yan!

8:05 PM - Huwwaat?? No Eheads yet?? Beyonce and CB/Rihanna concerts started on time. Haay, Filipino time pa din pala, kahit concerts.

8:20 PM - The reversed alphabet countdown begins. E!!!!!!!! And then there they were "Nakita kita, sa isang magasin..." I thought I was going to faint. Goosebumps all over. Must.maintain.composure.

After that, it was all jumping, singing and screaming (oh yeah, sweating too!). R and I have "traded" cameras since I'm always too tamad to bring along my Nikon (and of course bawal sa concerts), and he is pursuing photography as a hobby and for his career.. Anyways, he has an Olympus P&S, and even when I was less than 30 ft away, I couldn't take decent pictures. Argh. Kainis!! Howell, I was there. It was all that mattered. The excitement, the energy, the giddiness that was all in the air will always be in my memories. And if earlier I was worried that I might faint due to lack of sleep, well, somehow, I felt like I had 20 hours of sleep! Grabe the energy talaga. Walang katulad. 

The Eheads sang one song after the other, with Ely saying little, just responding occasionally to the crowd prodding them to "group hug". Hehe. Marcus took the mic to sing a reggae rendition of Huwag Mo Nang Itanong and we see Raymund doing his reggae moves while doing the shaker thing at the back. The crowd cheered and screamed and danced. The Raymund took the mic and started to strut on stage. When he saw that the energy of the crowd was low, he stopped, and then started over. The crowd then went wild as he sang Alcohol. Wow. While Ely is my ultimate-I-want-to-have-your-babies kind of crush, it's bad boy Raymund who is my ultimate rockstar fantasy. Haha. 

Torpedo completed the first set, and the long break starts. Wow, what an electrifying, nostalgic journey so far. I have no regrets for going all out for this concert (times two pa since my nephew made lambing for me to treat him.. haha)... But my aching feet almost made me regret going. Not!

I had to shift my stance several times during the 40 minute break. My feet are dying, but at least I didn't feel like fainting. Good sign. There's more to come.

10:00 PM - The Eheads emerged from under the stage in their preppy outfits. Time for the acoustic set. I could have sworn they sang With A Smile during this set, but people said they didn't. Honestly, with too many things going on, it was really a sensory overload. Grabe talaga. 

Of course the sang the Eheads youth anthem, Pare Ko, and my other favorites such as Kailan, Fine Time, Spolarium and ended the set with Overdrive - the longstanding barkada summer anthem. Ely said goodbye and the stage went dark. People started to scream for more...

The highlights of this set were when they sang Kailan and Minsan, the latter song a fitting song for their reunion concert, with the crowd hopeful of a happy ending for the once glorious band.

A few minutes later, the Eheads are back. Ely starts by giving tribue to Francis M "Sumigaw tayo para kay Francis". And then there was a pandemonium. Goosebumps all over again. Then they started to sing Superproxy and Ely ended with "Mabuhay si Francis".. If memory serves me right, there was confetti during this point.

The mood then became somber, and we see Ely on the spotlight. He starts to sing Alapaap into a Coldplay like rendition. Just when we think we've heard it all, the Eheads gives us something new. I hope they release this version. I really really love it! And I love Ely. Haha.

The rest of the band comes back again, and they play a snippet of Kaleidoscope World, showing a video montage of Francis M. Goosebumps again. The crowd was clapping, cheering, and I think some were crying even. More confetti, and at this point I think Ely set his piano ablaze..

11:10 PM - The crowd is not content and they want more. The Eheads sang the tragic lovesong "Huling El Bimbo", and everyone went wild. I tell you, my goosebumps never let up. There was so much confetti, and then everything was closed with a bang. Literally. Fireworks adorned the sky, and it truly was a magical moment. Seeing and hearing the Eraserheads perform again is a historic moment, and everyone who followed them starting the 90's till now all have a fresh memory to treasure. It would have been great seeing them in a group hug, but seeing them line up and taking a bow together was both sad and happy. It seemed like a good closure, but it's closure nonetheless. When it comes to the Eheads, we just can't let go. Letting go is admitting we're no longer really young or that era has indeed ended.

So with a sigh, we slowly walked out of the venue. Still bursting with energy and emotion, yet tired and UTTERLY thirsty! Just as we were right outside the gate, the crowd started screaming again. Did they return? I told my nephew, that's just a video. Then he grabbed my hand and we ran back. 

11:20 PM - True enough, there they were, back again. (I thought to myself, wow, Ely came prepared with several pairs of shoes, as he already threw one pair out to the crowd earlier, haha). Ely was just wearing a plain back shirt this time. The lights were also very casual. Parang nanonood ka lang sa Bistro. And then he asked "Pagod na ba kayo?" or something like that. Then we saw them in a huddle minus Marcus. The crowd cheered on again. It was the closest to a group hug we will ever see this night. 

Of course we're never too tired. (But my feet of course was cursing at me, bahala sila, hehe). Then they sang their "three for the road" as they called it. They opened their final final encore with Ligaya, and the crowd went wild again. (I should have known there was going to be another encore.. How could they not sing Ligaya??).. Anyways, in hindsight, Raymund did give a hint in his mailing list that if the crowd behaves, they might extend the show. I guess we were more behaved than they expected as there were a lot of instances where our legs and bodies refused to move already. Too much excitement makes a tired soul ;)

They performed another student anthem - Sembreak, and then ended with Toyang. The crowd still refused to leave after that (baka me third encore pa. haha).. And after a few minutes, it started to sink in. It was over. The Final Set was over.

But I knew in everyone's heart, we are all one in wishing that this wasn't the final one just yet. 

Postscript: It's been almost a week and I'm still on a high. An Eheads high, that is. I really really hope this is not the last we will see of Ely and the rest of the crew. After all, they didn't sing my all-time favorite Shake Yer Head this time. Well, if this were a place of wishing wells and magic spells, perhaps this is not really the end.

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The Final Set

Saturday, March 07, 2009

At the last minute, I decided to watch The Final Set. I was supposed to be at CDO this weekend, thus, I was already resigned that I would miss the reunion concert of the Eraserheads the second time around. But (un)luckily, plans changed as R went back to work earlier than expected. Nevertheless, much as I miss R so much, I'm happy for this chance to see and hear THE Pinoy music legends. I'm giddy with excitement, like the groupie I had always wanted to be ;)


In other news, I'm sure everyone out there is sad to hear about FrancisM's passing. During the worst of his pain, he remained a true picture of positivity and purpose, and was truly an inspiration. He fought the big C with vigor and continued to live as if he wasn't on borrowed time. His unfinished projects are a testament to this. In the hard times ahead of us, his resilience and faith ought to teach us a thing or two about life and how to face the challenges that come with it head on.

Still in another news, R just left a few days ago and already it feels like forever. Argh. It's been a hectic couple of months for us, flying to Cebu a couple of times, and squeezing in a Boracay vacation during Valentines. We also had a Pampanga food trip where I discovered that I will never be the kind to eat exotic food such as fried frogs (or tamiloc of Puerto Princesa fame.. the mere mention makes me wanna puke all over again). 

Sometimes I feel like falling out of love with R, but most of the time, I remember why I love him in the first place. And more importantly, he reminds me of his love and devotion always. Now we just have to work out and address this long distance thing. 

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