New docu chronicles Eraserheads’ iconic reunion concert and past glories

SB19 is not the first Pinoy band to be the subject of a documentary. The Eraserheads were ahead of them, having been featured in not one but three documentaries. The latest is Combo on the Run, which covers their December 2022 reunion concert, Ang Huling El Bimbo, held at the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque.

The band performed 31 songs during the concert, including hits like “Alapaap,” “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” “Minsan,” “Pare Ko,” “Magasin,” “Overdrive,” “Huwag Mo Nang Itanong,” “Yoko,” “Sembreak,” “Ligaya,” “Maling Akala” and “With A Smile,” to name a few.

The trailer for the documentary premiered at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 in California, USA, from 25 to 28 July. It is named after one of the songs from the band’s 1993 album Ultraelectromagneticpop! According to a publicity release, the film is about “an unlikely group of disbanded punks who reunited in 2022 during a time of political upheaval and provided reprieve to a country in the face of uncertainty.”

The trailer was made available to the public on 27 July on the Eraserheads’ and DVent Pictures’ official YouTube channels. There are no reports yet on when the actual documentary will be released for public viewing, or if there will be a viewing fee.

The first documentary on the Eraserheads covered their reunion concert on 30 August 2008, after they disbanded in 2002. The docu was shown in theaters in Metro Manila and Cebu during the week starting 26 November 2008.

An online report from that month declared: Eraserheads Reunion Concert The Movie captures the highlights of the event -- the state-of-the-art sounds and lights, the magnificent fireworks display, the 15 songs performed on a stage reportedly costing P40 million to build, and the mixed reactions of fans who were saddened by the concert being cut short because Ely Buendia had to be taken to the hospital after experiencing chest pains.”

In 2008, ABS-CBN’s Myx Philippines aired the documentary Gusto Mo Bang Sumama? (The Myx Eraserheads Documentary) and re-streamed it in May 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Myx Philippines likely drew inspiration from reports that more than seven million viewers enjoyed the sold-out jukebox musical Ang Huling El Bimbo, which is based on the music of the iconic band.

Myx Philippines asserted that its documentary “intricately brought to light the highs and lows of one of the biggest local bands ever to emerge in the Filipino music scene, to critical and fan acclaim. Gusto Mo Bang Sumama? carefully trails Eraserheads’ roots, its meteoric rise to fame and mainstream success, down to its eventual breakup, then leading to its historic reunion concert years after disbandment.”