This photo was taken seconds after Karla and I bought the copies of the Eraserheads Reunion Concert 083008. We bought ours in Astroplus SM Makati and we were lucky enough to get the last 2 DVDS on stock. This was just actually released today in all Astrovision and Astroplus stores only then starting January 31, you can already avail it through Odyssey outlets.

We started watching the DVD (it’s not yet done as of this moment) and captured nice photo moments. I envy Karla so much because she appeared twice. Huhu. (And I AM THE FAN GIRL MORE THAN HER!!!). Also the people I was with were at least seen like Tonton and King’s arm. Wahh!!! And where am I? BESIDE KING! Pathetic! Lol

Anyway, I was also saw the girl from NIke (I believe she is) whom I always see in our building (especially in the elevator). Nike’s office is in Rufino Tower and Raymund is one of the endorsers of Nike so most likely she got in there through the SVIP section Raymund.

Ok fine, jealousy runs through my veins. Well anyway, I can’t do anything anymore. I can’t be immortalized forever. Hahaha! I still have the chance to be captured on camera on the Eraserheads Final Set on March 7 . I just need to position myself near the cameraperson. Hehe.

Anyway, if you’re an Eraserheads fan, better grab it now. It’s already sold out on the store where I got the DVD, I’m just not sure with the others.

Isn’t this nice? Hehe.

***** UPDATE Feb 1, 2009: Listed below are the stores where you can buy the DVD (copied from Eraserheads Live Multiply Group)

Subject: Eheads 09
Date: January 11, 2009 Sunday
dear kids

i got a lot of messages yesterday asking about the eraserheads
concert. apparently there was a press release already in the papers.
anyhoo, here’s what i got so far.

yes its true. that much i know. but after the first one i got darwin
(soupstar, sandwich) to iron out my concerns before anything.i want
this one to be smoother. in other words i just want to rock.

the band has not me yet officially but i know the promoters have been
talking with our respective representatives since december.

we have a dysfunctional relationship haha. we play well together but i
think we can only stand each other for short periods of time.

i see buddy a lot cos were band mates in cambio. i bumped into marcus
at mogwai last week. he just got back from the beach. im glad ely’s
getting his groove back. sandwich played with pupil at guijo last friday.

we dont talk about the show. i know everyone agreed to do it so ill
guess well see each other at the presscon or rehearsals , whichever
comes first.

this wont be as top secret as the marlboro gig. there will be tickets,
sponsors and details in the papers. and well be allowed to talk about
it. haha.

PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL OR TEXT ME about it. its just a rock show. i just
want to rock.

see you all there

raim<s>

So there, it’s not actually confirmed yet that it will happen on the date mentioned on the article (with my fingers crossed…) but there are already talks that it will happen this year. All we have to do is just wait and see what will happen so as of this moment, I will still have to make arrangements with the airline to move the flight for the next day, in case it really will happen on March 7th .

The most awaited Eraserheads Reunion DVD will be officially released on January 31, 2009. Got this information from the Eraserheads Mailing List and of course from Sony BMG. The DVD will of course feature all the songs that were performed in the concert itself and some interesting stuff like behind the scenes and the rehearsal. This is a must have for Eraserheads fans out there.

It shall go down local music history as that singular moment where four estranged band members – Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro – came together for one spectacular reunion – 08.30.08. One band. One great show. One night only.   The historic performance of the country’s biggest band in the 90s that drew in more than 50,000 people at The Fort Bonifacio Open Field on Aug. 30, 2008, will be immortalized in one DVD – plus bonus features of behind-the-scene footages, rehearsals, etc.   “Eraserheads: Reunion Concert” boasts of outstanding production value. The state-of-the-art sounds, lights, and stage. The audience that night were so thrilled to find themselves drowned out by the outstanding display of lights and fireworks. It was truly a magnificent event, to say the least. All these, plus the thousands of adoring fans caught on camera, will be relived all over again in “Eraserheads: The Reunion Concert” DVD.

After the reunion concert, the Eheads Mailing list was flooded with tons of messages everyday. Actually until now, it still floods with messages. I would get 300+ unread messages everyday. Of course I wouldn’t read all of them, I try to cherry pick the topics that I want to read. So here are some of the cherry picked topics I will discuss here

So how is Ely Buendia doing?

Ely Buendia narrates to Manila Bulletin on what he felt while he was performing onstage:

“Towards the last song of the first set, I was already
feeling chest pains. Nung matapos, parang hindi na ako makahinga.
Kaya umupo ako. When we reached backstage, I was asking for oxygen
already kasi nahirapan na talaga ako huminga.”

He’s doing fine now. In fact he was already out of the Philippine Heart Center last Sept 5. His heart is 100% functioning now. He had just had his 3rd angioplasty. So all he has to do now is to rest for a few months just to be in shape. Ely’s manager, Day Cabuhat had photos of him while being released in the hospital.

( Ely with his nurses, he’s holding the Fruitcake book!)

( Ely with his doctors)

( Getting some last minute reminders)

How about the rest of the Ehead Members?

The rest of the Ehead members were interviewed about the incident of course and they really yearn to have another reunion concert since they were “bitin”. I believe Ely would feel the same too since they have prepared lots of surprises for the fans. You can check Karla Redor’s site on what should have happened in the concert. I just wonder if they will be doing a reunion gig part 2, what surprises will they be doing since the someone already spoiled the “surprises”? Hmmm.

It was actually Gang Badoy of Rock Ed Philippines who was able to interview them via Inquirer. The quotable quotes from the members expressed their appreciation and their feelings about the whole event. Here are some of them:

Question: Can you tell me about the “one big moment” for you that night?

Buddy: For me it was really while the stage was being hoisted up, through the haze I was looking out and then saw all the people, all the faces cheering us on, I felt all that energy thrown my way. Wow. It was more than overwhelming.

Question: Meron ka bang isang moment nung concert na hindi mo makakalimutan?

Marcus: P**a, hindi lang isang moment. Lahat. ‘Yung crowd, ‘yung turn-out. ‘Yung suporta sa Internet. ‘Yung tao na kung saan-saang lupalop pa nanggaling para lang manood. ‘Yung production, ‘yung stage design, ’yung logistics ng lahat. Parang, ang galing. ‘Yun ang concert.

Question: Wala ka gaanong moment-memory na nag stand-out talaga?

Marcus: Actually, ‘yung anak ko. (laughs) Umiiyak siya, buong concert! Masayang moment ’yon, basta. Cute ‘yung moment. May mga picture kasi siya nguma-ngawa. Ano ba ‘yung sagot ni Raymund?

Question: ’Yung countdown.

Marcus: Ay, siguro sa akin isang moment doon, ‘yung moment ni Ely. Nung ano… ‘yon. Siguro sa akin, ‘yun ‘yon.

Question: What was the moment you remember most from that night?

Raymund: When the crowd started counting down and we were under the stage. I actually banged the drums when it got to one. I wasn’t supposed to, but I just had to, I had to release the energy. I could feel the love, it was pure love, nothing negative. I could feel it in every pore, I knew there was going to be a video thing first and other things going on, but I just had to crash on it. In my head it was, “Let’s do this!” You know, and If I didn’t do that, kakailanganin kong tumambling, kung hindi sasabog ako. I couldn’t contain it.

Question: If all factors fall into place, Ely back health-wise, you’d do this again, right?

Raymund: Definitely. Me, personally? When he’s ready, I’d probably talk him into doing it again. I’m sure he wants to finish what he started. I mean, finish the full show, he’d want that. Because Ely worked so hard, as much as everybody did in this show, ‘di ba? I’m sure he set aside feelings about everybody also, we really all worked hard to get this together. So yeah, for as long as health-wise he’s clear, I’d like to do this again. I want to finish what we started. I want Ely to fully recover soon and talk him into finishing it. We don’t talk a lot but I want to talk him into finishing it. I’m sure that’s what Ely wants to do, too.

The “post-reunion concert” at Saguijo Cafe

I believe almost everybody knows that after the concert, there was a ‘post-reunion concert’ that happened in Saguijo Cafe. There were some people who reacted negatively to it since the rest of the guys sort of ‘partied’ while Ely was in the hospital. Many of you did not know that the ‘post-reunion concert’ in Saguijo will happen even if Ely was not rushed to the hospital. The rest of the guys actually visited Ely in the hospital. Of course they didn’t do it hours after the concert since his family should be there first.

Marcus even narrated in his multiply on how he came to Saguijo:

then we decided to go to Saguijo anyway, just to wind down. There was a full party going on, all the scenester and some old friends were there, I have outgrown this kind of scene but what the hell. I had a bottle of Chilean Red wine all to myself. I stayed outside while Cambio jammed Eheads songs inside. Later on three scenesters came to me in succession saying “tawag ka ni Raims jam ka daw”. In my mind: “Oh no! I forgot my capo, I’m not really into transposing songs right now” and I really don’t jam with Cambio my reason being “2 Heads (and three guitarists) should be enough.” But I did anyway, everyone was having a good time. I sang some parts of “Pare ko” and played guitar for “El Bimbo”. And that was it. Outside, some fashionistas were screaming “Marcus you’re a god!”. Sure. Kids. Ok. I go sleep now. I have to wake up on time tomorrow I know exactly what gift to get for Ely. Pahinga ka dude.

Question: May nagsabi na nung tumugtog kayo sa Saguijo after ng concert insensitive daw ’yon kay Ely dahil nga nasa ospital na siya… ( From Gang Badoy’s interview in Inquirer)

Hindi! Hindi… ako kasi, hindi ako juma-jam sa Cambio, kahit noon pa. My reason being, two ’Heads and three guitarists should be enough, man, hindi mo na ako kailangan doon. Plus pumunta ako doon kasi ang taas ng energy ko, tapos nalaman na namin na okey na si Ely, hindi rin ako makakatulog. Ayoko rin bumalik sa hotel, ang boring naman, ano’ng gagawin ko doon? So naghanap kami ng matatambayan. Nalaman namin na maraming nandun, so pumunta kami. Tapos tumutugtog ‘yung Cambio, tapos maya-maya may tatlong tao nang sumundo sa ‘kin, pinapatawag daw ako ni Raymund, jam daw. So tumugtog ako, masaya naman. Hindi yon dahil insensitive kami. Hindi yon ganon.

I think the person who ranted most among the 4 of them was Raymund Marasigan. Here’s his email to Sandwich Mailing list:

Sept 2, 2008

to whom it may concern

i dont usually rant but ive been hearing reports about people questioning why we played saguijo after the concert. first things first. when marlboro pulled out and cancelled the show a week ago, the band was free of all obligation to play the show. if it was about the money we could have just walked away fully paid no explanations to the press or anybody. free from the contract. the band decided to play nevertheless. the tickets and the prices was for the new promoters to buy out the production from philip morris to put it
simply. contrary to what some people think it takes money to stage a concert. stage, lights, and video screens don’t magically grow out of the ground. that’s what the ticket prices were for. the band was not
in the negotiation meetings between the the two promoters and we did not want to be in the meetings. personally i said just call me cos i’m ready to rock. no extra pay no contract negotiations. as far as the eheads was concerned were out of the contract. but here’s what you dont understand. playing music is what we do. we play when we’re happy, play when we’re sad, play when we’re angry, play when we’re sick, play til we die.

painters paint, writers write, my skateboarding friends skate or die. when u ask nba superstars what they do in their spare time. they play basketball. us musicians, we play. thats what we do. getting paid is a bonus. i will not apologize for that. when we don’t get paid we still play.

we played saguijo because we wanted to, we needed to. our hearts and souls dictated it. we could just go home and sleep. we did not talk about it. there was no invites there was no plan. we did not get paid. we borrowed equipment.

yes ely knew about it. buddy told him the next day. yes pupil was in saguijo too.

yes marcus buddy and i have lost a parent. we know how it feels.

ive been playing music for more than 30 years. professionally since 1993.there have been a few times when it was me who was unable to continue the set due to illness. albeit it was a lesser scale and (thankfully) never reported. it was nonetheless life threatening. ive had a run in with losing my voice, food poisoning, diarreah (embarassing) and a few more i do not care to mention that involved blood and bones. i had to drop out of the set from the eheads, cambio
and sandwich. thankfully there was always someone there to finish the set for me. and i am thankful that they were there. i did not feel bad. ive also saved a few shows from other bands when shit happens. we dont plan this and we dont complain but we still play.

my bmx friends ride with broken bones.

if we finished the eheads show that night you would STILL have found us in guijo playing after. yes i visited ely in the hospital yesterday. i hope he recovers soon. we have a show to finish.

music is life ill only stop playing when i die.
raym<s>

Raymund is someone who should we say is the “most controversial Ehead” probably with the things he say in the media. With his interview with Gang Badoy, Raymund mentioned something about Phillip Morris and being appreciative on their initiatives. One of the Eheads retractors Carlos Conde again attacked the Eraserheads but this time it was personally Raymund Marasigan. (I won’t be putting the link anymore to his blog, you can just google it up yourself ) He already apologized to the Eheads fans but it seems that it was too insincere. This trying hard self-righteous avoids to be interviewed by Gang Badoy as a guest for Rock Ed in NU 107. Such a coward. Well anyway, it’s his choice. Let him do it his way, be hidden in the cyberworld and does not want to utter a word in the radio. According to him, there isn’t anything more to say but it seems that he HAS LOTS OF THINGS TO SAY. Isn’t that conflicting?

You can check the links here for Gang Badoy’s interview with Raymund, Buddy and Marcus.

Here are some of the pictures by the way during their rehearsal from Day Cabuhat again ( here’s the link) Enjoy!

( yeehee!)

( Marcus, Ely and Buddy conversing with Julie Pacanas)

( Makes you think about the Beatles’ rehearsal )

]]> http://www.rockerfem.com/what-happened-after-the-eraserheads-reunion/feed/ 4 http://www.rockerfem.com/eraserheads-reunion-concert-083008-was-cut-short-due-to-elys-poor-health/ http://www.rockerfem.com/eraserheads-reunion-concert-083008-was-cut-short-due-to-elys-poor-health/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:12:19 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://www.rockerfem.com/?p=395 <<UPDATED>> AFTER THE GIG, THERE WAS AN INFORMAL PARTY IN SAGUIJO CAFE ( IN GUIJO ST, MAKATI). FIRST WHO ARRIVED WAS RAYMUND THEN BUDDY AND MARCUS CAME IN LAST. SOME OF THEIR BAND FRIENDS WERE WITH THEM. THEY PERFORMED MINSAN, MAGASIN, SPOLIARIUM, PARE KO AND ANG HULING EL BIMBO ( SONGS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE 2ND SET)

For the people who know me, you all know that the Eraserheads has been an important part of my life and I will never ever let this pass. You all know how I profess my love for this band. And now here is a blow by blow account of my experience there and also some juicy news

I prepared all the gig paraphernalia I need for an open air concert: a malong ( to serve as our mat while waiting for the show to start), alcohol ( you know, for hygenic purposes), tissue, towel and caps. About 3:00 pm we’re already at the MRT Ayala station going to the Fort bus, fans were already lining up to take the bus. Karla and I arrived the Fort area at 3:30 pm. There are already signs around the area giving directions to where the show will be held.

( Eraserhead? typo error that was not even corrected grr! Eraserhead was David Lynch’s movie)

Anyway, Karla and I walked, passed that erroneous sign and headed to the left entrance of the stage. We looked for the entrance for VIP. We looked for our names on the list and then we headed to security. They attached green tags for us ( while for the people in the SVIP section had the gold tag, like the golden ticket )

We were the first 2 people there on the left VIP section ( the VIP sections has 2 areas the other one’s on the right). Right infront of us were the SVIPs, people there were the band people, friends and relatives of the band and the producers. The only difference between us VIPs from them is that they have food and drinks for us, we need to buy. Hehe. That’s alright, our place is still near the stage so it doesn’t really matter.

( this is how near we are sa stage, the crew were setting up the guitars on stage. The people you see there are actually Marcus’ entourage in the SVIP area)

( here’s King, one my closest friends in UP)

( this is with Karla)

We were waiting for the time and more and more people were entering ( most from the right entrance actually). I actually went around just to see the area. There were concessionaires there and cds of the eheads were being sold.

( this is the patron area)

I saw some of my friends from different areas of the concert venue. My UP KMS friends and St. Scho friends. It’s really hard to divide myself when I have to meet and talk to them, gosh. Eventually my friends came, King, Tonton and Jomz and all of us where in the same area so we are together on the same spot.As we were waiting for the time, we were also spotting popular people in the SVIP area. Here are some of them and actually got the chance to take a picture with some of them

( Dong Abay of  Yano and Jugs Jugueta of Itchyworms)

( King, Karla, Sha, Kelvin of Itchyworms, Jomz and Tonton)

( Francis Brew of The Dawn)

( Yan Yuzon and Wendell Garcia of Pupil being interviewed by media)

( Me and Ebe Dancel of Sugarfree)

We’re actually like in the red carpet and I was calling some band people to take a picture of them Hehe. Papparazzi shots. lolz. Others whom I was not able to take pictures were Quark Henares of Blast Ople, Tim of Imago, Zach Lucero of Imago, Lougee of Delara ( formerly Mojofly), Karin Araneta, Jessica Zafra, Julie Pacanas ( former roadie of Eheads) and many more. Anyway, the countdown begins. The countdown was being flashed in the big screen, the longest 10 minutes of my life. Shux.

Then it’s down to the last few seconds, Ely, Buddy, Raimund and Marcus rose to the stage ( elevation woohoo!). Ely was sitting down, Buddy was wearing a white jacket, Raymund was wearing his wig ( just to mimick his hair during the Ultraelectromagneticpop days) and Marcus was just cool as he is. First song was Alapaap and fireworks were displayed. Super awesome! I was crying while they were playing the intro, literally I was crying. I just found myself shaking and crying. This is a very nostalgic moment for me. I just can’t believe they’re playing together as a band just for a night. Although I see them in separate gigs with their respective bands, it’s still different when you’re seeing them actually playing together. Also while performing, I noticed that Buddy was kind of nervous ( I think all of them) probably overwhelmed by the presence of more than 40,000 people in the audience.

Here’s the list of songs performed:

• Alapaap
• Ligaya
• Sembreak
• Hey Jay
• Harana
• Fruitcake
• Toyang
• Kamasupra
• Kailan
• Wag Kang Matakot
• Kaliwete
• With a Smile
• Shake Yer Head
• Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
• Lightyears

That was the first set of the concert. Lightyears was very dramatic, I could feel his emotion as he was singing this song. I felt that he cried. This might be his song for his mom, as what was reported a few days ago his mom died due to cardiac arest.

Doesn’t really matter where you are, however near you’re still so far

‘Cause you’re lightyears away, lightyears away from me.

There was a 20 minute break then suddenly the rest of the Eheads went onstage with Lally Buendia, Ely Buendia’s younger sister. Buddy spoke first introducing Lally Buendia then Raimund spoke about a very important news. Lally read a prepared speech for everyone announcing:

Thank you everyone for supporting the reunion of the eraserheads. We however regret to inform you that due to my brother’s poor health because of the emotional and physical stress that he has been experiencing, we apologize for cutting the concert short. My brother had to be rushed to the hospital for medical attention. Again we apologize and thank you all of you for coming here tonight.

I was in shock and immediately thought of how he is. I am already feeling that he is not feeling well while he was performing the last few songs for the set. The promoters were also onstage and led a moment of silence to pray for Ely Buendia. Everyone clapped for the Eraserheads. This was supposed to be the second set ( from the Eheads Mailing list):

• maskara
• poorman’s grave
• torpedo
• trip to jerusalem
• back to me
• maselang bahaghari
• maling akala
• tikman
• spoliarium
• magasin
• para sa masa
• overdrive
• pare ko
• minsan
• huling el bimbo

The second set would’ve been a very cool set. Even though the concert was cut short, it’s alright because I got to see them perform onstage altogether. That’s enough for me. As of last night, Ely Buendia is alright. That’s good to know. I perfectly understand what happened, probably hoping for another reunion but as of the moment this is enough for me.

According to Jim Ayson’s Philmusic.com and other sources as well,  soundcheck happened around midnight last night until 2-3 am. Probably Ely was really stressed. Imagine, all the things that happened this week. It really is. It was even reported that was already dead. Read the blog of Jessica Zafra for some witty details

On a lighter note, they were treated as rockstars, checked in five star hotels the night before the gig and even had their own chauffers to drive them to the gig. They really deserve this. Here’s an email of Raymund Marasigan to the Pedicab, Sandwich and Cambio Mailing Lists:

From: raymund marasigan

Subject: [pedicab-padyak] getting ready

Date: Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 12:40 PM

hey kids

its been unbelievably crazy these past few days. i taped a few
tugtugan episodes with pedicab and rivermaya, taped a pedicab myx live
episode, played a cambio gig in route 196 ,paid our respects to tita
lizette, played a sandwich gig in up manila,finish mixing the duster
album and take care of last minute production details.

marilou and r.a. treated me to something green and hairy.
maps played imago and duster gigs.
tarikim skipped school.i gave tix to the teachers haha.

i love my job. i thank God for this opportunity and blessing.

we had soundcheck midnight last night. my drum kit was tuned and
inspected by cholo of ernville and mike d. thanx for the cymbals cholo

i got jamie and the sherps mickey, tel and jerry as my crew.

brand new dad darwin was there. soupstar’s got a new baby in the family.

a few friends dropped by. the ichyworms, pupil, mark maya and aia,
sinosikat, direk quark, erwin romulo, direk marie, and then some.

i’m a bit embarrassed were getting super rockstar treatment. we’re
checked in a five star hotel, assigned a chauffeured van each,
personal bodyguards (which i refused until later tonight) and we can
actually raid the mini bar haha(after 20 years in rock n roll).

i didn’t get enough sleep. for the first time i’m actually excited
about the concert. went to the gym to sweat out last night’s beer.
i’m having bacon eggs and fruits in the room as i’m typing this.

earnest just dropped veda off. the kids are trashing the room. ill get
a massage when they go swimming.

i can’t wait to play. i’ll see you all tonight.

be safe

sugaraym<s>

Also as of this moment, Buddy, Raymund and Marcus are in Myx. Raymund said that they will definitely do it again and that’s a promise.

Still reading some more emails about insider stories. Will update this blog when I hear some juicy news

By the way, thanks to Marcus Adoro for the VIP access! You rock!

Long Live The Eraserheads!

*** some acknowledgements: some pics were grabbed from kingbalmes.multiply.com, most of the photos were taken by Karla Redor

]]> http://www.rockerfem.com/eraserheads-reunion-concert-083008-was-cut-short-due-to-elys-poor-health/feed/ 20 http://www.rockerfem.com/eraserheads-ticket-details/ http://www.rockerfem.com/eraserheads-ticket-details/#comments Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:30:16 +0000 Sharlyne Ang http://www.rockerfem.com/?p=361 <<UPDATED: TICKET PRICES and PROMOTERS>>

<<UPDATED: CONCERT VENUE… PIX FROM MARCUS ADORO >>

Because of my thirst to get firsthand news about the Eraserheads concert details ( and of course blog about it) over the internet, I immediately went to Netopia Farmers because my freakin computer has a spyware on it. Everybody is curious as to how to avail the tickets and how much will it be. To those who don’t know yet, the concert is not free anymore because of the dementors being against it. Phillip Morris pulled out as the organizer of the concert now it has been confirmed that Radiohead and Sony BMG Philippines are the sponsors and promoters of the event. As for the ticket prices, it will be sold through Ticketworld and the prices are as follows: Php 800 and Php 1300 ( this was as of this evening, August 27). Prices were lowered from Php 1300 and Php 2060. There will be a division at the Open Grounds at the Fort to differentiate the ticketholders. When news broke out that Ticketworld will be the ticket distributor, its website went down temporarily and was advised to buy the tickets through their outlets in SM and National Bookstore. Unfortunately, reservations are not allowed. Tickets are now available through Ticketworld outlets.

Marcus’ VIP list will still be honored according to him, and the official list will be released this afternoon. Shux, this is really scary! hehe. He’s just concerned about identity theft so IDs will still be presented.

UPDATE: I JUST GOT A CONFIRMATION EMAIL ABOUT MY VIP TICKET, IT’S REALLY, REALLY HERE! WOOHOO!

Yes, you are in Marcus’ VIP list for the concert. Yehey!

By the way, Marcus Adoro posted some pictures on his multiply site. Pix were grabbed from www.markushighway.multiply.com

( pic grabbed from markushighway.multiply.com)

News broke out yesterday in the blogosphere that the Eraserheads Reunion Gig was already cancelled. Got this link from the Circus Mailing list and it mentioned that it was already official. Hmm. I wonder about the intentions of the author of that blog. Well anyway, it said that DOH ( Department of Health) refused to issue the permit. In the first place, why do the organizers need to have a permit from DOH? I didn’t know that whenever there are events I need to get a permit from the DOH. Or probably it’s for the doctors that will be in the event for emergency reasons? I don’t know what the permit is for. WELL ANYWAY, Marcus Adoro was able to read that message and was stunned by it as well. According to his blog, he immediately contacted his contact persons ( isn’t that redundant? hehe) to confirm about it and Marcus gave the statement: “the decision will be relayed to us on the next rehearsal date which was not today and will not be tomorrow ( referring to August 23rd and 24th) kaya relax muna kayo“. His blog post entitled ‘Relax’ assured fans that they will be informed on what will happen. Marcus reacted on Raymund Marasigan’s message to the mailing lists regarding the possible postponement. Well, I would understand postponement but cancellation is different. Postpone means that the date will just be moved however cancellation means it will never happen. Be careful of your words dear!

Ey by the way, Karla and I got our Reunion shirts. Whether or not this pushes through we still have the shirts! Thanks Noytee!

dear wizards and witches

there is some disturbing news at the ministry of magic. the dementors
are doing everything they can to stop the show.

be safe

aldus dumbledore

Dare not to stop the show. It’s the law that has a flaw, Phillip Morris was able to seep into the loophole.

Now the question would be: Would you say that the fans who want this show to push through are “unintelligent” just because they don’t f*cking care whoever sponsors or ‘organizes’ the show?

I remember when I was in college, my thesis was about fandom. I wanted to do a different kind of study and portray fans as ‘intelligent’ beings in this world as opposed to the common notion of fans being the “commoners”, ” unproductive” ( meaning all they do is stalk with their idols) and justify that their idols actions are always correct.

The Frankfurt School theorists ( rooted from the believers of Karl Marx’s theories) would insist that fans are products of mass culture. As for them, mass culture is bad, monstrous and only makes people fantasize about the impossible and ‘alienates’ people from the reality of life. Mass Culture as for them operates with different apparatuses that would control the recipients of mass culture ( i.e. the fans). In this sense, we are led to have the common notion of the fan to be just mere passive audiences. If you will try to analyze it, it is somewhat a one-way relationship when fans just get pleasure from their idols and nothing can be no intellectual or cultural production can be produced from their idols. ( Try thinking about your biology in high school, it’s a symbiotic relationship called commensalism wherein only one benefits while the other doesn’t benefit at all). This kind of notion is pathological since they are the kinds of fans that media shows us.

I beg to disagree that I am like that. I am not that kind of fan. I want the show to happen.

Fans have the power to resist within their domain. Whoever the sponsor of the event is, fans will still support the show. Fans have the capability to resist whatever the motive of the sponsor is. If Phillip Morris is indeed the real sponsor ( which was by the way already confirmed), fans can still attend the event and not accept whatever Phillip Morris advocates. It’s just simple logic, it’s non-sequitur! It does not follow that if a person attends this event then people will advocate smoking. Wow, isn’t that illogical?! By the way, people have individual brains and can decide for themselves. The problem is, we are always concerned about the structural and always neglect agency ( or the individual). People are focused only on the economic structure being the big bad wolf when in fact there are other structures where we can work on. Focus on the ‘is’, capitalism or consumerism IS already here ever since and what we can do right now is to work WITHIN capitalism. Now, don’t mistake me as an elitist, I am just being pragmatic.

I understand other people’s orientation that personal is political. I accept that. But that is not always the case.

I am a fan, a logical fan.

Raymund Marasigan has just emailed the Sandwich mailing list:

Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:58:47 AM
Subject: [subsandwich] the magical mystery show

dear kids

the paranoid wizards at the ministry of magic forbids me to speak of
the great quidditch tournament.

but i have reason (version4) to believe that it is true. the
information regarding the date , venue and how to join the
celebration is out in the interweb.

its free and its out there. but you have to be cunning and smart.look
for clues.

look for the head sandwich sherpa. she will lead you to the peak of
destiny.

the muggles will get in your way. the death eaters will hunt you down.

may the four be with you.
and i will see you there

aldus dumbledore

Let’s try to decipher the message. Who are the paranoid wizards? Most probably the organizers of the event. The Ministry of Magic most likely are the ‘promoters’ of the show ( Phillip Morris) . Eraserheads Reunion Gig was named as the “Quidditch Tournament”.

I just don’t get the “look for the head sandwich sherpa. she will lead you to the peak of
destiny.” I don’t know if what I am thinking is correct. Hmmm. Anybody knows?

It’s already August and I am really getting impatient on how to get the tickets for this gig. Just recently read Azrael’s blog post today and also got to read his disappointment for the long wait. I recently checked Karla’s profile in Marlboro.ph ( well, I couldn’t remember my user name so I checked hers instead ) and still the same page is still appearing ( That Michael Buhay winning a Ducati 848 hehe). According to some Circus Mailing Listers, when they called the Marlboro Hotline, they were informed that the official announcement for the Eraserheads concert will be announced today. Meaning, the phone representatives themselves had already confirmed that it is indeed them who will be sponsoring this event.

Here are some of this points he discussed:

1) The CEO of Phillip Morris have already owned up the ‘promotional event’ that will happen in CCP ( letter was sent to Howie Severino’s Blog:

Please be advised that the promotional event you refer to is an invitation-only event, not open to the general public. It is restricted to our trade partners and to adult smokers who can obtain an invitation by registering on our adult-only access website… Invitations cannot be purchased and are not transferable.

This ‘promotional event’ is being referred to the Eraserheads reunion gig that will happen on August 30, 2008 at the CCP Grounds.

2) It’s still not clear as to how long the set will be, if it will be a 45 minute set or a much longer set. As far as I can remember, quoting Ely Buendia from the recent TV interview that it won’t be a short set.

3) As for Carlos Conde, I didn’t like what he said on his blog about the Eraserheads. He has some points that are correct and I am understanding his orientation ( duhhhhh I’m a sociology major). But hey, I am a fan and I don’t think that I am not an unintelligent fan. But I have to work my pragmatic mind about this. Hehe. That’s his opinion. If you haven’t read his article about him trashing the Eraserheads gig, just read his blog.

So all I have to say is be patient. Hayy..