Following the success of Huling El Bimbo World Tour in 2023, the Eraserheads are set to embark on another tour this year including cities in North America, Singapore and Dubai. Ely Buendia, Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcus Adoro are preparing to deliver another thrilling set of concerts to their fans overseas.

Their historic first reunion show was held at MOA Concert Grounds on December 22, 2022, garnering a staggering total of 75,000 people in the crowd. In 2023, the band proceeded to do a USA-Canada Tour which included cities such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto. This year, the legendary OPM band will be revisiting some cities as well as adding new stops.

On June 19, the Eraserheads held their contract signing with their business partners which included WEU Event Management, DVent Productions, Tiana Ent. Inc, Live Nation Philippines, ABS-CBN Global. Shortly after, a press conference was held. They talked about their memories from the previous tour and what to expect from their upcoming tour. Here are the highlights of the event.

Eheads Travel Prep

When asked about their travel essentials, each member had their own style.

Marcus readily answered with, “I overpack. It’s better to overpack than to underpack”.

Ely, on the other hand, is a light traveler, bringing only the essentials plus 1 extra luggage for shopping. Buddy quipped, “Berocca, Lola Remedios” which made everyone laugh. “Anything you can think of to keep you healthy and functioning.”

Raimund answered last, “Ang best na dinadala namin, si Ely nagturo niyan, yung portable bidet. Iyon ang huwag kakalimutan sa US tour”.

Each city gets an Easter Egg.

For fun, the Eraserheads also like to include Easter Eggs unique to each city they visit. Raimund explained that they played “American Woman” by Guess Who, a song they used to play in college. Guess Who is a band from Winnipeg, but the song is more popularly known as a song by Lenny Kravitz. They also continue doing that for the upcoming tour.

Most Memorable Show

When asked about which city was their favorite, Ely and Raimund answered New York, explaining that the crowd’s energy was something special. Buddy also mentions their show at Los Angeles as he could feel that the crowd was very eager to hear their songs.

(Mis)adventures on the Road

Their tour also became memorable because of the adventures they had before and after shows. Raimund fondly shared that there was an instance when they were stranded in the middle of the desert for hours because their bus broke down. They had also experienced logistical mishaps when half of their crew and their equipment were delayed due to a flight delay. They were worried whether they had to postpone the show, but their main reassurance to themselves was “Nakakatugtog ka nga sa Mayric’s eh. Makakatugtog ka rin dito.” Fortunately, their crew and their stuff arrived right before the show.

Choosing the Songs in the Setlist

The Eheads have their own groupchat wherein they discuss which songs to include in the setlist, around 40 in total which they’ll be cycling per stop. For this tour, Ely and Marcus mostly chose the songs. Ely elaborated, “80% is decided by the fans. 15% is decided by family and friends. (Tama ba yung math ko?) 5% is decided by the band.” If the band were to choose 100% of the setlist, they would include deep cuts and obscure Eheads tracks that they want the world to know.

These B-sides have found their rightful place in their soundcheck sessions pre-concert. “For the soundcheck experience, we get to play songs that we love as a band. We do it during soundcheck because we know that the fans who pay for the VIP tickets will appreciate whatever we play.”

Re-arrangement of the Songs

During their Huling El Bimbo concert in Manila in 2022, some of their songs were noticeably rearranged. How did this change come about?

Raimund said it’s more of playing in a tempo they’re comfortable with. Since most of the songs were composed when they were very young. “Mas relaxed na kami, mas relaxed na iyong audience. We play it a little differently but I think it’s still 90% halos iyon ang areglo. Hopefully, we play it a little better now”, he explained.

Buddy backed this up, “ It’s another way of saying that we play differently now. As older musicians, we’ve learned different things through the years. We’ve also learned how to edit ourselves. We have a feeling of what we want to do on stage.” Buddy added, “Ako napansin ko, Buddy plays less notes. I play more notes.” Ely said he considers it a compliment that fans appreciate the way they play the songs now.

What has changed in the band?

It has been almost 2 years since they announced their reunion show in Manila. In the two years that they have been working together again, how has their dynamics changed?

Buddy answered, “We’ve had several dinners under our belt. That way, we are kind of in touch with kung anong kinain ni Ely, kung anong inorder ni Marcus. It helps in our dynamic, sharing a dinner, having drinks, coffee – so we’ve had more of that.” Raimund chimed in “birthdays!”

As it turned, the band members had also celebrated their birthdays together. “Ever since then, we’ve spent a lot more time together. It’s shaping our live show and it’s keeping it fun,” Buddy affirmed.

What are they looking forward to experiencing in this round of shows?

Raimund shared, “It’s the energy that the crowd gives you. It’s like it’s the first time you’re playing, I know some of these are really old songs, but it’s the first time we’re playing it to them and it’s probably the first time they’re hearing it live. There’s that energy that you can’t replicate anywhere else.”

Ely quipped, “It’s also great to see young faces in the audience. They weren’t even born back then. That means that the music still translates to the younger generation which is awesome because you know how they’re so hard to please now. Just kidding.” Marcus added, “The music seems to be growing as well, nag-eevolve for the better, I think.”

Ely admitted that they wanted to re-record some of the songs in their catalog. “Not so much we could own our masters, but because as artists, we found out that we could have done more with our songs,” he clarified. “Something we look forward to as musicians is to become true to our profession and still apply the inspiration we were into back then when we were just starting out.

More Eheads in 2024!

Besides the tour, there are more exciting things ahead for the Eraserheads this year, including the launch of the Huling El Bimbo Official Merch Site on June 21 and a film titled “Combo on the Run” which is currently on the final stage of post-production in Los Angeles. The trailer is set to debut at San Diego, California in July. The band also mentioned that they hope to perform live in more cities around the world.

Don’t miss out! Be sure to catch the legendary OPM band with their classic hits at the following stops.

The Eraserheads’ Huling El Bimbo World Tour Schedule:

July 6 – Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu
July 12 – The Warfield, San Francisco
July 13 – The Peacock Theater, Los Angeles
July 19 – Pechanga, Temecula
July 21 – Great Canadian Casino Resort, Toronto
November 23 – The Arena @ Expo, Singapore
December 8 – Dubai Exhibition Center, Dubai
More cities to be announced soon!

by Sandra Mae Laureano