Atheista -

Let me start this piece by saying that I owe a lot to Wolfgang. A lot of people found it weird that I bobbed my head to almost socially-unacceptable levels back in my highschool’s corridors. During the lull between classes, I would pull out a clunky Sony CD walkman from my bag to listen to another round of Semenelin or Serve In Silence. Everybody else was listening to the new tunes from Parokya ni Edgar and Oasis but it just didn’t cut it for me. I was feeding my ears a steady diet of Wurm and I was always coming back for seconds.

Wolfgang lost a lot of steam during the turn of the millennium. The decline was probably influenced by a synergistic cocktail of factors that eventually led to a undeniable and palpable change. Maybe it was because of the emerging rap-influenced-rock subgenre that put a premium on growling and detuned settings that relegated wolfgang as an ‘old school’ band that was left behind by the new movement. There was also a gloomy trend of disbandments going on that time. The once  mighty-Eraserheads also started fading into the dark of night as their releases following their first three albums failed to live up to expectations.

Despite all these changes, Wolfgang remained as the hardest-rocking band to have significant mainstream appeal. Sure, The member’s ability to inspire the audience in more ways than just at the musical level could’ve played a part in their success but when all is said and done, Wolfgang made hard rock both critically-acclaimed and commercially-viable at the same time. They had a very loyal legion of fans who were pushing into their mid 20s and were finding the new trends that Slapshock et. al. were pushing to be alien from their hardwired sensibilities that Wolfgang molded.

The following that Wolfgang had through the years was a rabid bunch. Most gigs would be packed with diehards who would scream the lyrics of any given song that band was playing. There was genuine camaraderie among strangers who connected via a common love and emotional link to iconic songs that shaped their growing-up years.

In 2002, shortly after the release of Wolfgang’s fifth studio album Black Mantra, the band suddenly went into hiatus and left a legion of fans cold. The possibility of a break-up wasn’t exactly written on the wall so seeing Basti’s farewell message was a big shock to almost everyone. An ill-fated gig in 2003 at a small bar in Makati escalated to an fiery war of words between the band and the disenfranchised people who weren’t allowed access to the gig.

Over the next few years, the band and fans would kiss and make up and eventually share one of the most unforgettable nights in OPM history – the Alive 2007 concerts at the Music Museum. The venue was a touchstone to most fans as it was also the building that hosted the iconic Acoustica concert of 2000. The playlist consistent featured the band’s strongest tracks and also included the song that hinted at the possibility of future Wolfgang songs – R.P. Death Squad. It was perfect – two nights of great music shared by hundreds inside a hallowed hall. Wolfgang definitely showed that they were back and were going to exceed all expectations.

Fast Forward to 2008.

I’m sorry if I had to start off with a history lesson. I thought it was just proper to lay out the context of what  just transpired.

To avoid running the risk of being overly subjective and emotional about how things went down the night of December10, I’d rather put my thoughts in bullets.

• Eastwood City was the worst venue for an event like a Wolfgang concert. Unlike Music Museum, the central plaza of Eastwood didn’t carry the nostalgic feel that the former literally exuded. It really felt like the concert was being held in the worst venue possible. When the lights were dimmed, there was no drama because you could still see the christmas lanters hanging from the balconies of the other establishments. Worst  of all, it was cramped and people who paid a thousand pesos to watch the concert had to SIT (because security didn’t want people standing during a rock concert) shoulder-to-shoulder. Considering that a 350 peso ticket was able to deliver an amazing experience, people were definitely expecting a lot more  than monobloc chairs this time around.

• Wolfgang is known of setting the bar high and still managing to exceed expectations. They did it with Alive 2007 when they were able to give the people in attendance an amazing time after missing out for a  number of years.  To cut the story short, they totally failed to exceed expectations.
• Wolfgang and Razorback were guilty of raising expectations. When Kevin Roy said that this concert was the gig of the year the already sky-high expectations just punched a hole through the ozone layer.  I’m not an Eraserheads fan but trying to suggest that you were going to best something as anticipated and dramatic such as the E-heads reunion sure got my hopes up. Basti also said that we will play everything also made  people think that it was going to be like Alive 2007. It was nowhere near Alive 2007. I bet most people who saw Alive2007 left the venue disappointed.
• Twelve songs. Fourteen Songs.Seriously? Fourteen songs? Wolfgang concerts are generally LONG and they play an amazing amount of encores before calling it a night. I watched a Wolfgang gig at Batangas back in 2001 and they played no less than 18 songs – the ticket then was only 150. Most of us don’t really care  how much the ticket costs because we just want to watch them play again.
• I somehow feel that Wolfgang didn’t understand how much we missed them. Though they kept on talking how this is their first album  in six years, it still didn’t feel like they connected with HOW BADLY the fans wanted to see and hear them. I don’t know how they came to the conclusion that 12 songs would satisfy people. It really puzzles me.
• I think it was also fair to assume that  most people wanted them to play old songs. You could just tell with how the crowd reacted to the new songs off Villains. Sure, I was shouting my lungs out when they played R.P. Deathsquad but a lot of people just sat down when they played the other new songs. The new material ate up 4/12 songs played that night and classics like Weightless, Atomica and As Oceans weren’t even played.
• Is there seething hatred for Black Mantra? While most people seem to be in agreement that Black Mantra is their least favorite Wolfgang album prior to Villains release – don’t get me wrong, Black Mantra is still a solid album — the album still has a number of tracks that can get the crowd going. Back in 2007, Wolfgang only played Judas Noose off the 2001 release. For 2008, the band refused to heed the call of the Black Mantra. Yes, you heard it right – no word from No Falter, Meckam or Bow Unto Thee.
• Is Father Time catching up with the band? I refuse to believe it. I hope it’s just  an off-night.

To end, I would like to affirm my loyalty to Wolfgang. I am grateful for the music. I don’t think they owe it to us to keep us company but we’ve been spoiled. We’ve experience nothing short of the best and now that they fell short, it’s a change. Hopefully it’s just an anomaly.

Photocredit: Carlo Roderos

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