Fans of Eraserheads were promised a 30 song concert August 30 last year at the Fort in Taguig but the band was not able to continue after 15 songs because Ely Buendia, the band's vocalist, had to be rushed to the hospital for his heart ailment.
In my last post about the Reunion Concert, I observed:
Concert or no concert, what happened to Ely was very unfortunate. People were glad to hear the news he had recovered. We hoped he continues to get better and keep writing songs for the world to enjoy. However sympathetic I was to Ely's condition, I could not agree with the action the organizers had taken to address the crowd in reaction to what happened. I mean, I do not think apologies served as a balm to heal the crowd's disappointment for the abrupt end of the reunion concert they had so long anticipated and were so excited to participate in. I believe the organizer's should have either refunded one half of the ticket price, or advised the audience to keep their tickets for the concert to be used as a discount "card" for the next concert (of Eraserheads, should there be any in the future, or any band with the same organizers). And of course, the band members should have taken only half of the talent fee they ought to receive. They performed only half of the job, anyway.
I am sure what happened to Ely was not one of his choosing. But I am not sure if that event could not have been avoided. According to an Inquirer report, “He had a slight attack because of stress due to the recent passing of his mother (Lisette Buendia), and their sound check which lasted till 3 a.m. today (Saturday),” said MTV Philippines and Radiohead director for marketing Ronald Esguerra in an interview with INQUIRER.net.
A love one's passing away causes emotional stress. This fact should have been enough reason to postpone the concert. They would have done a favor to Ely and the fans of Eraserheads. In the alternative, considering that Ely had undergone angioplasty surgeries, the foregoing circumstances should have prompted him, his band mates, his loved ones, or the organizers to prohibit him from staying until 3 am on the concert day to set up the sound system. That he suffered a heart attack because Ely stayed until 3am the day before the concert is (an excuse that reflects irresponsibility and lack of professionalism).
Inquirer Libre reported yesterday (10 Feb 2009) that when asked if those who attended August 30's concert could avail of the discount for this set, Ely Buendia replied:"Ask the producers."
Such a dismissive response to a valid question. Why not simply answer "no"? Is it because when he answers "no", he will be made to explain why and it is not so much answering "yes" or "no" that he dreads but the fact that he will be made to explain the answer?
It is indeed very hard to explain, especially if he and the rest of the band members took the whole talent fee even if they performed only half the job. It will reveal their lack of sense of justice and consideration for their fans.
Excuse me, Mr. Cuñada, the producers for the "Final Set" are not the same producers of the August 30 concert. Why should the new producers pay for the short comings of the first producers?
Good question and you have a point. But I am not talking about the producers. I am talking about the band members themselves.
And since when did it become funny or cute to tease the fans they short changed for 15 songs by joking that maybe this time they will perform 16 songs and there will be group hugs, as Marcus Adoro said?
The fans do not owe anything to Eraserheads. In fact, it is the Eraserheads who owes so much from their fans. How can Eheads rip off the very people who are loyal to them?
Surely, Erserheads does not just bring in the music and the noise. It also brings disappointments.
Why isn't there a single comment here? Perhaps nobody really cares about all the stuff you mentioned. The Eraserheads has given music and memories to the world that are worth much more than two concert tickets. Their loyal fans (thousands of us) do not mind paying twice, if that is all we could give back to the band that has brought us joy for more than a decade. Why worry about getting a discount? We are just happy to see them playing together --- something that might never happen again.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Goddess of Gratitude.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I am also one of the fans of E-heads. I am also grateful for the contributions the members have to the OPM. And surely, I did not expect that my piece could stop the concert. My point is that, just because fans buy the tickets to their show does not mean they can take advantage of them. They have the moral responsibility to give what is due. And I don't think they have given their due, unless during the 2nd concert, they sang 15 more songs than they were supposed to sing.