We had VIP tickets to the Final Set concert, which is why we weren’t so worried about the time. We got to the Mall of Asia, via LRT and jeepney, from our luxurious hotel suite (how ironic). I had never thought MOA was that big but it was anyway and just when we thought a five-minute walk to the concert grounds would suffice, we were wrong. It probably took us more than 10 minutes to get to where the concert is located (that already includes my brother taking a pee, asking around for directions and craning our necks to see where the lights come from).
We still had time to take a picture of MOA at first. We followed the crowd as well, thinking they would lead us to the right track. We were wrong.
Fortunately, we got there before the concert started. Unfortunately, we also found out that we were not the only VIPs, there were more than a hundred more of them inside — most of us were standing, of course, in a field about twice the size of the stage, and there were others at the sides who were sitting (they were probably the more important ones). Still, the tickets may have cost around 5k to 10k (not sure anymore) which made my brother and I give a big smile. The concert started with a countdown, around two to three minutes after we arrived. We were VIPs, indeed.
They mounted four big screens on top of the stage — a camera is focused towards each member of the band.
We snaked our way through the huge crowd, to get a better view of the stage. We got a place behind one of the cameras. The sad thing was that the stage was not that close just yet but even so we had to constantly look up. The stage platform must have been around five feet tall. Hmmm. It seemed like the Eheads were the gods. Well, they were. Here is Ely Buendia, by the way, for lead vocals and rhythm guitars.
Buddy Zabala, bass and vocals.
Raymund Marasigan (swoon!), drums and vocals.
Marcus Adoro, lead guitars and vocals. Later in the concert, he used a pink electric guitar with a Hello Kitty picture on it. It was extremely cute and, I don’t know, hardcore? He also did a ska/reggae version of “Huwag mo nang itanong” which sounded really fun and cool.
A closer shot of Ely Buendia through the wide screen (I forgot if this was from one of the four or from the much bigger one at the right side of the stage). He is wearing his (signature?) eyeliner here and his poker face as well. He does that everytime he sings – no emotions at all.
The stage. With someone’s hair on the foreground. The black bulk at the right is the camera crew.
So maybe the stage was six feet tall? Well, it gave me a nasty neck ache after.
Okay so that guy has a Canon. Sheesh. I was only using an Olympus Digicam here and in the later parts of the concert, my phone, then my brother’s phone and another digicam. *sigh* That’s Ely in black, by the way.
Me and my big grin
Another picture for the station. 
The concert has had many highlights as well (in my point of view, anyway) because I saw Anne Curtis directly below the stage. When the concert was supposedly over, Jericho Rosales and Karylle walked past us, too, but they had to stop for a few photo ops near our spot (perhaps it was with me? hahahha) so I took the opportunity and in my very weak and tiny Tagalog voice, I blurted out, “Echo, pwede pa picture?” I don’t think he heard it though but I smiled right beside him anyway and my brother had to click on his cell phone fast. The picture was blurred – and is now gone 
– and the two celebrities left fast after a few seconds.
Ely Buendia also threw his jacket but it only reached among the front rows. I heard those who got the jacket had to cut them up to pieces, to make sure everyone who touched the jacket had their share of the memorabilia. Ely also threw a rubber shoe to the left and the other one to the right of the stage. Raymund Marasigan threw out a few of his drum sticks (ouch!) and one nearly missed me. I had miscalculated its landing spot and was also afraid of the impact when it fell only to found out that the girl beside me caught the stick. Had she not exposed her cleavage too much, I would have grabbed the stick which landed on her chest. Tssskkk. I hate remembering that though, it makes me sad.
The FINAL SET set list:
First Set
- Magasin
- Walang Nagbago
- Maling Akala
- Maskara
- Poorman’s Grave
- Waiting For The Bus
- Huwag Mo Nang Itanong (ska-fun version)*
- Slo Mo
- Alkohol
- Insomya**
- Torpedo
—15 Minutes Break—
Second Set – The “Unplugged Set”
- Julie Tearjerky (Unplugged)
- Tikman (Unplugged)
- Wishing Wells (Unplugged)
- Fine Time (Unplugged)
- Pare Ko (Unplugged)
- Kailan (Lounge)
- Back2Me
- Trip To Jerusalem
- Spolarium
- Overdrive
—5 Minutes Intermission—
Encore One
- Superproxy - ”Sumigaw para kay Francis!”
- Minsan
- Alapaap (Easy Version)
- Kaleidoscope World (Chorus only)
- Ang Huling El Bimbo
Encore Two
- Ligaya
- Sembreak
- Toyang
*Marcus Adoro on vocals
**Raimund Marasigan of vocals
I was a little scared about seeing Ely sing on stage considering the reason why the first concert had been cut short a few months earlier. However, they made sure to address that problem and got the other band members singing the lead while Ely took a rest. The first set made the band look like rock icons (really!) and it was nostalgia for me. I was never that big of a fan for the band – not until this event – but I knew their more popular songs and I realized that if I had been born a century earlier at most, I would have been a diehard fan who would do anything to see their concerts. *sigh* I liked the second set, too, because they were just sitting around in a lounge chair and singing like they were just doing it at home, to pass the time.
Supposedly, Francis M should have been on the concert, to perform with Ely for the Superproxy song. However, Francis M died a few days earlier and instead they dedicated the song to him. They also sang Kaleidoscope World as a tribute. Just as we thought that things had ended they sand Huling El Bimbo (I guess this was the song that got me teary eyed) where they burnt (sadly) the piano which was part of their Sticker Happy album cover and the band history as well. It was really just an emotional moment for me and for the more diehard fans as well. The fireworks highlighted the moment, too. Finally, the concert ended.
But wait, there’s more! The crowd shouted “More!”, I guess and after a few minutes, Ely (or was it Raymund?) got back up on stage and asked us to call on the other members of the band so they could sing more. Eventually, they all got back on stage and told us that they would do 3 more songs. Ely went down the stage when he sang “Toyang” and got a few audience members to sing some parts, including Tim Yap, who got his lyrics all wrong. I thought Ely would reach our spot but he didn’t, of which I was quite grateful because I could not memorize the song.
*Sigh* This concert really brings back both happy and sad memories. There’d been so many things I wish I had done. I brought along a 1GB memory card but the batteries failed me, it only got me halfway through the concert. Lesson learned. I wish I also got myself prepared with the concert too, especially in terms of the song lyrics because it was hard to join the crowd while they were all singing. Plus, I should have prepared money and found out where they would have an after-concert party so I could have a picture taken with them and get an autograph, too. The experience was amazing, still, and I would have wanted to share more beyond the words and pictures but unfortunately, I lost all videos of the concert. (
