Why Ely Buendia didn't mind the backlash of 'selling out'

Ely Buendia has performed in various venues throughout his career as a soloist and frontman of Eraserheads for three decades, from arenas to wide open grounds. But nothing beats performing at smaller venues, particularly at an iconic nightclub in Quezon City that was once the home of Filipino rock bands.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

"I started playing bars when I was in college, and those are where I honed my craft," he told The FREEMAN at Unity Coffee and Vinyl, where he performed Saturday, October 25. “The legendary Club Dredd, I thought, was the best place to perform because it gives off a different energy compared to performing at a thousand-seat arena.”

Cebu City marks the latest stop on his “Method Adaptor Tour”, which started in Quezon City last April, with other stops in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Laguna, La Union, and Cagayan de Oro.

“Method Adaptor,” released last year, marks his third album under his name, following his 2000 debut album “Wanted Bedspacer” and his collaborative album with the late rapper Francis Magalona, “In Love and War.”

In past interviews, however, he has said he does not consider “Wanted Bedspacer” an official release in his repertoire. He explained to a newspaper, “I don’t want to consider the last one, ‘Wanted Bedspacer,’ as an official release because I was just playing around then. I just experimented a bit in my room and decided to release it.”