THE ROAD TO THE E-HEADS REUNION CONCERT / ALL DAYS BEFORE AUG. 30,2008! =D

I first knew about the possibility of an Eraserheads Reunion Concert from the PEP site. That’s the Philippine Entertainment Portal for the uninformed, and for the record, I only check it because I want to track changes in the weekly NUTAM TV ratings for work. Haha. Yeah, right. ;p But seriously, I find that these days, I can no longer sit through an entire episode of The Buzz without developing a serious headache from listening to the travails of a series of mindless mini-starlets. The PEP site provides a great alternative for those who want to follow local showbiz biggies without having to sit through the irritating fillers (I mean, who wants to know about the latest in the lovelives of Mystica and Madam Auring?!).

So there I was, reading through the right column where all the headlines are listed when I almost had a minor heart attack as I stumbled upon one particular headline: ERASERHEADS TO REUNITE FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY. (Click on the link to read the article.) Amidst everything I had to do that day (I forgot now what they were), I texted Hubby Sweet to solicit his cooperation in finding more about how to score tickets.

From mid-July to D-Day, August 30, I monitored every single article on the web, hoping to find out more abut the concert. With personal issues not yet resolved between some of the band members, a big part of me thought the concert may not actually push through. Everytime, I would click on each headline with dread only to heave a sigh of relief after each one confirms that, yes, the One-Night-Only-No-Band-Reunion-No-New-CD-After-Concert will indeed push through. (Click here if you want to read the article.)

Still, with D-Day fast approaching, and with no official announcement on how tickets can be had (word-of-mouth though suggest that the key to getting in lies in the Marlboro website), I walked around like an E-head zombie, trying to get through business reviews and CY09 budget preparations at work, while asking around and scheming for ways to unlock the secret to getting inside the reunion concert.

Finally, on August 27 (three days before), organizers announced that Marlboro (which has rightly been tagged as the official solo sponsor) had pulled out because of threats from the DOH resulting from the ban on any form of advertising (including sponsorships) for cigarette manufacturers. Sony-BMG (the band's old label) announced that it was stepping in, that the concert would push through as scheduled on the 30th but that it will now be held at the Fort Bonifacion Open Field (instead of the original CCP grounds). In addition to the change in venue, the tickets will now be sold (instead of being given for free upon registration at the Marlboro site) at P1,300 for Patrons, P800 for General Admission. Tickets will be sold @ all Ticketworld outlets beginning August 28, two days before the concert.

Unfortunately, I had wall-to-wall meetings the following day, but officemates who decided to try and brave the mob reported that lines at all Ticketworlds were snaking like there was no end in sight. (Mas mahaba pa daw ang pila sa Ticketworld kesa sa For the First Time ni KC and Richard! Haha! ‘D) Darn. DARN!!! I felt my chance at scoring tickets slowly fade away when the Hubby texted @ way past 9:00 p.m. (I was still in the office) that someone told him the Cebu Pacific site had a Ticketworld link where we can possibly buy tickets online. WOOOOOOOHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! It was definitely worth a try. =)

Hubby Sweet and I decided that we will both try (him from our laptop at home, me from the office) to increase our chances. We figured if we end up with two extra tickets, it would be easy enough for us to sell them to someone else. =)

After several attempts, I finally got hold of adjoining seats. (The website kept giving me available seats that were far from one another, and I stupidly believed that because we were paying for the more expensive Patron tickets, we would be provided with actual chairs, hahaha!) In any case.... WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! G3715 - G3716. *Grin, grin, grin from ear-to-ear-with-matching-yes-and-fist-in-the-air! =D*

After clicking on the "purchase now" button, I then belatedly realized that for me to buy the tickets, I had to create an account with Cebu Pacific. This automatically heightened the stress level even more as the countdown on the left side of the screen indicated that I have only 10 minutes to complete the transaction after which they will free up the seats to someone else. It was literally a race against time. WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! *Huff, huff, huff, complete-concentration-with-matching-furrowed-eyebrows-must-do-this-type-of-expression-on-face. >:/*

After wheezing my way through the registration process (it actually left me breathless, because I think I put off breathing the entire time, haha), the ticket purchase was FINALLY a done deal. All that was left for the Hubby and I to do was to go to the nearest Ticketworld outlet to pick up the tickets.

WOOOOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 'D

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More in the next post! Right now, I have to work. =D