Live Audience POV: The Eraserheads Show Why They're 90s Rock Legends in Huling El Bimbo

(SPOT.ph) The Eraserheads and tens of thousands of their fans time traveled back to the 90s during Huling El Bimbo, their final reunion concert in the Philippines just three days before Christmas.

Frontman Ely Buendia, drummer Raymund Marasigan, lead guitarist Marcus Adoro and bassist Buddy Zabala saw fans sing, jump, and cry as they performed their greatest hits at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Paranaque.

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It's a feast for the senses for concertgoers and streaming audiences, with drone shots, holograms, a giant LED screen including the iconic inverted E that changed color for every song. Fans passed around giant white balls during the intermission, and the show culminated in a shower of confetti and a fireworks display.

"You have inspired us to come back so this is for all of you guys, we love you," frontman Ely Buendia said before he strummed his guitar to the intro of With A Smile.

There were free Angkas rides to and from Mall of Asia, queues were short by 6 p.m. as organizers opened the gates as early as 2 p.m. There was plenty of food stalls in every section and surprisingly, the line for the airconditioned portalets were short and you get to pee within 10 minutes of lining up for the loo, at least for the ladies at the moshpit/VIP section.

Eraserheads' Huling El Bimbo highlights: UP life, Francis M. + fireworks

The band started strong with Superproxy from the album Cutterpillow and a performance with the late Master Rapper Francis Magalona onstage via hologram, rapping with the Eraserheads and his two sons, Elmo and Arkin Magalona. It's a fitting tribute to the band's unofficial fifth member and creative collaborator until his death in 2009. 

The first set was a treat for Cutterpillow fans as Eraserheads played almost everything in its 1995 studio album in the exact order of the track list that included classic hits like Waiting for a Bus, Overdrive, and Huwag Mo Nang Itanong. It was an age reveal for fans who can still remember what a beeper was when Torpedo was playing. 

Eraserheads wouldn't be the iconic OPM band they are now without their alma mater UP. Huling El Bimbo took concertgoers to Kalayaan dormitory in Diliman when they played hit song Minsan, a tune that fans cried to when they disbanded and the same one that shook them when Buendia said it wasn't about the band, but a heartfelt song for his other college friends (because according to him, they were never really friends). The LED wall also showed Palma Hall when they led the audience in singing Sembreak.

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The UP Pep Squad made a surprise appearance, chanting "U-nibersidad ng Pilipinas" and performing their stunts onstage to the delight of other Isko and Iska in the audience.

The intermission was a 90s party, with concert attendees shouting the lyrics while dancing to Dying Inside by Timmy Thomas, Hanson's MMMBop, Erasure's Always (I Wanna Be With You), and Spice Girls' Stop.

The Eraserheads jammed with Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano, who amped up the crowd with Christmas Party some three hours after the event started, or that part of the program when some of the audience at the moshpit area were seen whipping out bottles of White Flower liniment or sitting down as they complained of lower back pain and arthritis, as one middle-aged concertgoer said.

Buendia, 52, was joined by his son Eon for Saturn Return while Zabala sang Tama Ka, which he co-wrote with his wife for their 1999 album Natin99.

And is that a new vlog content alert for Marasigan? Maybe fans could soon see the view from the stage as he left the drums to Itchyworms' Jazz Nicholas so he could shoot around the stage with his action cam, sipping alcohol while his bandmates performed Pare Ko. Buendia let him sing a few lines too, a cue for fans to erupt in cheers. Excuse the language -- the audience was screaming "tang*na" at the top of their lungs, too. 

Eagle-eyed fans, did you spot the NU 107 logo on the LED display during Spoliarium? Fun fact, the Eraserheads performed the last song ever played on the FM rock station before it signed off the air in November 2010 -- Ang Huling El Bimbo.

And as they were playing the final notes of Huling El Bimbo, fans lifted their heads for an awesome fireworks display.

Surprisingly, there were no clamor for an encore, considering it was said to be their swansong in the Philippines. Bright yellow confetti rained as the bandmates hugged each other onstage at around 12 a.m., signalling the end of the much-awaited reunion concert that fans hoped wouldn't be the last one. A world tour in 2023, perhaps?