There were no introduction, no costume changes, no front acts—just the band, a mean playlist and a crowd rocking a revived historical venue. “Wolfgang at The Met” on June 18 is a rock gig done right.

It is the comeback concert of local band Wolfgang composed of Basti Artadi on vocals, Manuel Legarda on guitars, Mon Legaspi on bass and Francis Aquino on drums. A thousand fans trooped to the Metropolitan Theater in Manila, even at the onslaught of Typhoon “Egay.” It was also the rebirth of the Metropolitan Theater as a functional venue, formerly a decrepit and abandoned structure.

Back on tour

Wolfgang opened the show with “Sanctified,” a classic from the album “Wurm.” Artadi worked up the crowd who sang along, bobbed their heads and enjoyed the music of their—ehem—youth. The band’s popularity peaked during the ’90s, and those in attendance are mostly 25 year old and up. The younger fans, Artadi said, “are those who stole Wolfgang tapes from their brothers, cousins or parents.”

The band was last seen at the “Plug and Play” gig in Whitespace, Makati, last year, the first concert to be fully streamed live on the Internet. Artadi has been living in the US and is now back in the country, touring nationwide with the rest of the “wolf pack” in the 30-city “Tanduay First Five” concert series with bands Chicosci, Kamikazee, Sandwich and Parokya ni Edgar.

The songs “Weightless,” “Beast,” “Left Alone” and “John of the Cross” followed. As one fan in the band’s Facebook page said, “The seats were useless because we were standing all along!”

Spectral

“Nakakagigil ’tong audience na ’to. Ang gagaling n’yo!,” Artadi shouted throughout the night.

There was great energy, and the spectral, quite eerie ambiance of The Met complete with that stuffy old museum smell made the ambiance more surreal.

The art deco building constructed in 1931 by architect Juan Arellano was known as the “grand dame” of Manila’s theaters. It was declared a national cultural treasure in 2010. Wolfgang is the first act to use it for a big gig.

“I was in the States and thought of this great place,” Artadi said during an interview backstage. “Hopefully people would find a way to bring it back to its former glory. People didn’t really know that it was already open.”

The once glorious theater has a rich history. According to the Inquirer article “Opening soon: New and improved Metropolitan Theater”: “During its heyday, the theater could accommodate 1,670 people … Badly damaged during World War II, it was rebuilt in 1978 by former First Lady Imelda Marcos, but its condition deteriorated in the ’90s. The Met fell into decay and [was] finally closed down in 1996 … Almost P90 million … has been spent for the [restoration] project.” (April 11, 2010)

“It is falling in shambles, but it still has some good bones,” he added. A team from Manila City Hall dusted off the area and made sure the restrooms were working well. Dennis Lagdameo did the stage backdrop and Shakira Villa-Symes took care of the lighting. Air-conditioning and electricity were restored. We can’t help noticing, though, the massive peeling on the ceiling, and the aged walls. Wolfgang, literally, could have brought the house down.

But that didn’t stop the fans from going afire. The band, for the first time, played a succession of Tagalog songs from the album “Serve in Silence”: “Hiwaga,” “Anino,” “Tulisan” and “Ilang Alon ang Dala” to credit Legaspi who wrote the lyrics.

“The songs are about a guy who ended up dying, because Mon is such a positive guy,” Artadi joked. Then the audience sang along “No Falter,” a cut off the “Final Fantasy” animation soundtrack.

‘Sandata’

Wolfgang played “Sandata,” a new song for the coming album. On when it would be out, Artadi just gave a shrug. “Natutulog Kong Mundo” was played next, one of the bands cult hits. The crowd knew the lyrics by heart.

Following a five-minute break, the band played “Twist of Lime,” “Man ’98,” “Bring Down the Godhead,” “24,” “Blue 11,” “Atomica,” “Mata ng Diyos” and “What Grows in your Garden.”

There are also surprise covers—“High Speed Dirt” by Megadeth and “2 Minutes to Midnight” by Iron Maiden.

Last songs were “Halik ni Hudas” and “Semenelin,” and “Arise” for the encore.

After the No Fear souvenir shirts were sold out, the last of the siopao and siomai in the portable steamer, and the bottled water and iced tea in the cooler were bought (there were no food tents, just a makeshift table for snacks), happy fans walked out of the venue.

In the backstage, hard-pounding drummer Aquino said he can hardly lift his arms (he broke nine sticks). Artadi did a Q&A, and while answering my question, he stopped in mid-sentence, noticing someone was putting off a cigarette on the floor.

He picked the cigarette butt and scolded: “Stop that, you’re defeating the purpose of why we’re doing this whole thing.” Then he threw it in a bin.

“It’s easy for the listeners to drop us and just go for someone else. They stayed. We appreciate that, and fan posts on Facebook. I reply when I can.”

A few minutes after the gig, the “Wolfgang: Philippines” page was filled with love: Photos, clips, thank yous from members who shared over two hours of hardcore Pinoy rock.