The hounds

 When one speaks out against the one you love, I am sure that minutes after clicking the post button, many will share their own sentiments good or bad.

We all know how social media works. How toxic the discussions are, insults throwing around and of course too many fake news. 

That is why I wouldn’t be surprised why famous artist and celebrities can’t take a stand.   Now with the current election happening in May... whew! Grabe ang toxic talaga... That’s also why I respect how brave some personalities in voicing out against Duterte and Marcos. Lalo na musicians because as all you may know, the common comment of trolls when they speak up is, “Mag banda ka na lang” or “tumugtog ka na lang”. Which of course makes no sense since they are still Filipinos who pay taxes and have the right to voice out opinions.

I just saw this video. Biro mo Ely Buendia made it to the trolling world of bloggers hahaha. Proud of you man! Anyway, if you will watch this video, this is actually sums up how the trolls react when a musician speaks up. Of course, makanti mo lang ang Poon nilang si Digs, they will post video right away dissing them.

The song in question is “Metro”, a song that serves to educate the voters and telling to vote wisely. Of course, the DDS world will not keep quiet about this. They are triggered with this excellent line “Pangulo ba o Pang gulo”

Bulag sila sa mga pahirap
Na iyong nararanasan
Di nila naiintindihan
At may mga nagbibingi-bingihan
Sa mga kasinungalingan
Di kaya sila ay bayaran?

Kamatayan at sakit
Kalayaan ay nagigipit
Lupa at dagat natin ay pinagsasanla

Kapatid di pa ba nagsasawa?
Tumatakbo ang metro
Wag ka ngang muling magpapalinlang
Sa pangakong pinako

Mga abuso sa kapangyarihan
At maling pamamalakad
Ang sagabal sa kaunlaran
Walang pinuno ang hindi marunong
Lutasin ang mga problema
Ito'y panata nila sa bayan

Simulant ang pagbabago
Sa isang pinuno
Na may pagmamalasakit
At paninindigan

Panahon na upang imulat
Ang mata sa katotohanan
Pandemya at kawalan ng kabuhayan
Asan na ang nawawalang lupa't pera
Bagsak ang ekonomiya
Di ka ba nagtataka?
Pinunong may talino, puso at tapang
Ito ang kailangan ng ating bayan

Kapatid di pa ba nagsasawa?
Tumatakbo ang metro
Isa lang ang iyong pagpipilian
Pangulo ba o pang gulo?
Pangulo ba o pang gulo?

Pangulo ba o pang gulo?
Pangulo ba o pang gulo?
Pangulo ba o pang gulo?
Pangulo ba o pang gulo?

So to answer you Mr. DDS/ now Yorme enabler, the answer to our problem is removing your tatay and replace him with a Pangulo and not a Pang gulo. 

Anyway here is the updated version of “Metro” for VP Leni and Sen. Kiko.

As of this writing, Ely is now making news again because of his tweet:

Note the haha react

 And trolls are so alive, they are like hounds searching for someone to attack:

Try harder blengblong supporters

To the trolls, Ely Buendia is a legend and been through so much hate lalo na when the band disbanded so you “Laos ka na” or  “high lang yan” comments won’t give anything to him. Try harder please. 

To Ely, thank God you are using your influence and platform to ask questions that will tickle one's mind.  He can just sit there comfortably from his ivory tower, but no, he went down and join the people. To others this may not be much but for now, we need little things to make big difference.

Edited: Just in, may bagong tweet si Ely, sobrang fiery at higit sa lahat Tagalog haha. Sabi nga nila bardahan na ito. pero ito talaga din kailangan natin, harsh words para magising kahit papaano ang mga nagtutulog tulugan pa rin.

Resurgence of OPM bands thru political rallies

When a political rally turns to a big pink concert, OPM bands are staple so people will be entertained while they fight for their beliefs at the same time. 

When Vice President Leni Robredo started the campaign, Rivermaya is the first band to take their time to help the campaign for free. They always sing Liwanag sa dilim, aptly encapsulates VP Leni’s role to the upcoming elections. 

I’ve seen Rivermaya ( current lineup ) perform. Nathan Azarcon, Mark Escueta and Mike Elgar took turns in singing their anthems. They may not have the strong vocal prowess of their previous vocalists, but they do give a livelier version of the songs. 

So when they perform Liwanag sa dilim when VP Leni ends her speech in Naga, I can say they can still give goosebumps. 

After a couple of sorties, Ely Buendia joined Vp’s rally. I would say that he and Rivermaya paved the way to make a stand about their political beliefs. Of course, Ely is still the no. 1 on the list when you ask who is the idol of today’s OPM bands.

Ely is still very influential. After he joined the Iloilo sortie, which was one for the books I must say, so many bands followed.

Mayonnaise, Moonstar 88, Grace Note, Ebe Dancel, Itchyworms, Ben and Ben and Chicosci just to name a few followed his step.

Which brings me to Chicosci.

I am a casual listener of the band. I am not the greatest fan, and upon checking my previous post here, I like Mong Alcaraz. Yeah, my 16 year old self likes chinito guitarist. Also, seeing Miggy’s emo demeanor from the past, it doesn’t appeal to me that much. I am more of Yael Yuzon stan talaga. Yung medyo clean, Atenista look. 

But, my god, I am 32 now and the resurgence of me liking these vocalists comes back thanks to VP Leni’s sorties haha.

I also realize what makes me like Miggy now is his political stance. I just followed him in twitter this year, because of his tweet about the dictator’s son. Chicosci’s first gig after 2 years, became viral. Down to their last song, he gave time to make a speech about the upcoming election. He said that we should really think about our choices and don’t believe things you see and hear in tiktok. He didn’t name his choice at first since he said, they are not that kind of band. But midway to their song “Diamond Shotgun”, he sang “lock and load, Leni let’s go”. He just say it once, because i think the audience didn’t hear it clearly. But what is clear is he flashes the L sign. So it went viral and later confirmed that he said Leni let’s go instead of baby let’s go. 

And I must say, buti na lang he didn’t stick to his emo sound and look. Also I never thought that he is that vocal about his political stand. I just think he is that cono elitist who is so out of touch. Sorry Miggy! You have that look eh haha same like you can judge if a person is a dds or bbm.

Their Camanava performance was awesome. Miggy hyped the almost gen z crowd. I mean, i am sure majority is not a chicosci fan or doesn’t  know their song but he was able to make them jump, shout and sing. Grabe yung energy from both sides. What I love the most is he was able to deliver  a powerful message. That we should fight for the country and leader that we deserve.

There’s so much to say about our upcoming election and about the rallies that turned to concerts. But since I support and love OPM rock bands since my high school years, the resurgence of the live music scene gives me hope to this crazy world. I also love that the bands use their platform in a way they know how: To make people happy and  stand for their choices. At the end the day the music of these OPM bands will stay on no matter what will be the outcome this coming May. 

And also, we now know the bands who share our political stand: that Marcos is no hero, Marcos Jr. is a joke and Leni Robredo is our hope.

Kaya lock and load Leni, Ipanalo na natin to’

When the meek speaks

 What do you feel when a famous person you looked up to suddenly speaks about a controversial topic about our nation? If you have same thoughts, you will be ecstatic. If you have different view, then you will be disappointed.

Buti na lang it’s the former instead of the latter one.

When Ely Buendia asked about the reunion, he said this:

When I read this, I was a little bit confused and didn’t know if I will believe he actually tweeted this. I’ve been a fan since God knows when. You can search Ely here in my blog and it will bring you hundreds of post about him. I mean it’s quite out of his character to tweet like this.

Ely is not known to promote a candidate lalo na a candidate for President. He is vocal with his ideologies on twitter but to be very straight forward and very open about his choice for presidency is something unusual.

I know when he tweeted this, the reunion is just a joke. Na kahit tumakbo si leni, reunion is quite impossible for now. But I am so happy he said this. It gives me a lot of hope in life.

And when he actually visited Leni to give the Eraserheads vinyl limited edition, I am over the moon.

It shows na he is really serious about supporting her.

When someone like him becomes very vocal about what’s happening in our country, it means something is really wrong and we must take action. I mean, he is very successful, with millions of pesos, he can just stay quiet and never leave his ivory tower. But he didn’t. He is making his voice be heard not only sing songs, but make a stand to something he thinks is right. 

Ultracombo

Photos grabbed from Roxanne Nebres

Jan. 19, 2019, still my birthday. Just saw an Instagram post about the Ultracombo gig in the morning. Since it’s my birthday and I have nothing planned out in the evening, I decided to celebrate it by watching 3 out of 4 heads at Eton Centris.

I’ve never seen Eraserheads live, so it’s the closest thing to the original thing. I’ve seen Ely Buendia’s solo concerts. But even though he was the vocalist of the heads, it still not the heads. Well Ultracombo, is still not the Eraserheads, but still, there is something unique, there is something about the chemistry of the three that will just make you want to watch and listen them to play.

It gives me such joy when I see Buddy looking at Rayms, or Buddy smiling when Marcus fucked up the lyrics. I like seeing Rayms playing drums. I think it’s hard to sing while playing the drums. Every time he hits the cymbals, he just give his full energy. Marcus is well, Marcus. He is not the best vocalist in town, but damn the guitar riffs. The concert was nostalgic. I realized that I know the lyrics to all of the songs they performed. Yep, even the rap part of Superproxy. That’s how an eheads fan I am.

They started the event with Overdrive. With the first note of the song, I just got goosebumps. The event was like a big karaoke 🎤 event where the 3 heads were playing their hit songs. Raymund Marasigan and Marcus Adoro were switching as the vocalist while Buddy Zabala was the back up vocalist.

Their setlist are composed of songs that are really easy to sing like Sembreak, Minsan, Pare Ko, Ligaya and Magasin. Also, most of the songs are upbeat so the crowd can jump and dance with it.

Of course there were some mistakes, like missing cues or wrong lyrics but that’s forgivable, because well they are legends. The mistakes are funny. Like when Marcus forgets the lyrics to Harana. Or when he said “ilang tansan pa ba ang kakain oh giliw ko? Ilang isaw pa ba ang iipunin oh giliw ko”. I can’t help but jump, raise my hands, and sing along with them. At some point, Rayms said “Put your fucking cellphones down. Walang ganyan nung 90s”. Yes, I videod some parts of it, but not all because I just want to feel the drums of Rayms, the bass of Buddy and the guitar riffs of Marcus. When they sang “Ang Huling El Bimbo”, I just closed my eyes, sang along and raised my hands and said “damn it’s my birthday. I’m glad to be alive. I made right decision of going in the Ultracombo gig”.

It’s a fucking gig to remember. I can list it as Top 5 best gig I’ve been to. The crowd is fun too. I still hope that there will be a reunion con cert any time soon. It’s a 90s kid’s dream. Because I’m still a baby when they are still together. But well, this mini reunion of some sorts still works fine to me. Hoping they continue to create music even if it’s not Eraserheads, because damn! They are so good. They are legendary. They are one in a million. They are Ultra Combo.

Ely Buendia Greatest Hits Dec 2015

This is late post but I just like to post this. So I went to Ely Buendia's greatest hits at Robinson's Galleria with my brother. We were so thrilled that he sang some rare songs like Fruitcake and Christmas Party.  It's one of happiest Ely in concert I've seen. He made jokes like "Music pa more? Or should I say great music pa more?" During Christmas Party, he let us stand and be near at the stage. I was able to hold his hand.. That's one of the highlights of my 2015. Sorry, if it is shallow, but I am a fan since God knows when so pardon me for being a fan girl :)

Come Together - When Rockstars Unite

  Ok. This may be a year old  video, but I just want to share this epic, history in the making video where not one but 2 rock icons in a stage singing "Come Together" a Beatles classic.

No, I won't comment on who is better, I will leave it on the youtube commenter. The two are different in so many levels.I hope there will be another MDR event.

Now, to make things more epic, Ely Buendia, Rico Blanco and Raimund Marasigan singing "Laklak"



Ely and Dong Abay




Bamboo and Rivermaya


So enjoy watching the videos.OPM rocks!!

Pupil version 2015

I’m getting old. The last concert I’ve been to was the New Year Countdown at Resort’s World Manila where Ely Buendia was so close to us. Approximately half a meter away and a 3 feet stage. 

I never thought that I will be so much closer to him. Thanks to H & M, the distance was shockingly half a ruler and maybe a 12 inch stage. As what Ely said this was the closest they have been while performing or in a gig. I was so close that I could count his white hair… so close I can read their setlist. 

To be honest I was a little bit disappointed when I saw the set list. Most are from their new album “Zilch”. If they released this when I’m still in college, I already purchased it and I can sing along with the band. But no, I am already in an age where quarter-life crisis is predominantly popular. Sayang, I can’t show him that I know the songs. We made eye contact pa naman.

The first two songs were “Firewall” and “Why”. The third song was 20/20 from Limters of the Infinity Pool. At last I know the song and was able to sing along. Next was “Resonate”. Then some group of teen age boys were requesting for “Monobloc” from Wildlife album. Ely joked that Jerome Velasco (their new guitarist replacing Yan Yuzon) is still learning their songs. So I blurted out “Nasaan Ka” from Beautiful Machines. He said “Yun. Yung mas madali na lang”. Haaay… it was surreal. It was beautifully sang. I sang along, and surprisingly almost all of the people knew the song. Ely maybe became happy to know that people still know songs from Pupil (and not just his old band). Then maybe he was hyped up, someone requested for Magasin. He joked “Mag aasin?”. So yes, he performed it with a different flavor. Different from the Eheads, solo Ely Buendia style. It’s slow but still with heavy riiffs of Pupill.  Ang ganda lang. Magasin is the song that I didn’t like at first but just grew on me. I really liked the version of Ely when he sings this on his solo gig. At some point he said “Kayo na lang kaya kumanta” because we were all singing we beat the sound of his voice or even his guitars. Ang saya lang. 

Because he was so close and it’s my first time to use my Canon S 140 in taking pictures during concerts, I am practicing using aperture, shutter speed and ISO or whatever. haha. Anyway, some were requesting for “Hey Jude”, “Hey Jay”, Ely gamely do the intro riffs if those songs. Then the they also requesting other songs from his old band. I like to say“Please stop it!” since Ely is quite in a good mood so don’t ruin it. He already played “Magasin” and I can feel that he is really in a good happy mood. I think that every time he is with Pupil, he is more comfortable with them. Unlike being a solo artist (he sends really different vibe when he is performing alone), and the Oktaves, I can really see the passion and happiness when he is with Pupil. It’s his comfort zone. After that nostalgic songs, they performed new songs like “Cheap” and “Out of Control”, At the end, he throw his guitar pick while saying “Sa inyo na lang”. I don’t know if I’m imagining but he’s looking at me. Sayang! I almost got it, pero there was a taller guy eh. So yun, I told you, iba yung vibe niya that day. The happiest performance I’ve seen him during their gigs.

Wendell Garcia, the happiest drummer boy ..but not seen in this picture

                                Dok Sergio fixing his effects

                                           his signature pose

Ely wearing polka dot polo while showing his white hair…still looks good.

The disadvantage of being close is not getting a complete band shot 

Haaay… with this gig I rekindled my love affair with the band music and scene.
Thank you H&M for the giving us literal  “CLOSE” the loop experience.

New Year Countdown 2015

Spent the last and beginning of the year at Resort’s World Manila for Year-end countdown.

Mitoy, Princess.. blah blah performed. but the reason we went there is because of this guy..

We were super close to Ely Buendia. This is the closest I've been to any concert. Thanks to Yeng’s fans. They went away after the Pop Rock Princess or whatever they call her performed so we were able to stay in front.

His first song was “Higante”.He sang 2 Eraserheads songs. Around 11:50 they stopped, then the host went to stage and let the previous performers and wait for 12 midnight.The Dawn also was there. Me and my brother were waiting for them to interact or to greet each other. Well they did but not that significant so we were quite disappointed.. haha… I can see his fake smile while having the countdown.. haha. but that's true Ely Buendia attitude so it's ok with me.

The perks of being in front of Ely Buedia.. we took his pictures, took stolen selfies with him… and we had eye contact with him even he is wearing eye glasses the whole time.  

After all these years I must say that he still has it. Sure, he does not have that energy of Bamboo or Rico Blanco but Ely is what he is now because he has this charisma and unique songs that can stand the test of time.

He barely talk during the set, but I don't care I just waiting what will he perform next. My favorite is his version of "Magasin" ballad style. He sang "Maselang Bahaghari", "Alapaap", Huwag Mo Nang Itanong" and of course "Huling Elbimbo"

It was really nice spending the new year with THE ELY BUENDIA. It doesn't happen every time.