Archive for February, 2020

Singapore concert cancelled

Today it was announced that the upcoming a-ha concert in Singapore has been cancelled:

We are extremely sad to have to tell you that the show in Singapore on March 21 has been cancelled, due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) proliferation concerns.

We have been looking forward to do our first show for our fans in Singapore, and we know fans from all over South-East Asia had made plans to travel to the show as well.

It breaks our hearts to disappoint you, and we will do our best to make it back as soon as possible. Stay safe in the meantime.

Details about ticket refunds are available at sistic.com.sg.

a-ha to perform at Rock in Rio Lisboa

Festival ad

Rock in Rio Lisboa has announced that a-ha will be performing at the festival on 27 June 2020. This will be the very first time a-ha perform live in Portugal.

The Rock in Rio spin-off festival has been held every other year since 2004, and is one of the largest of its kind in Europe, with an attendance of around 350,000 people.

Also performing on the same day will be Duran Duran, Xutos & Pontapés and Bush.

For some reason Duran Duran are headlining, although it could be argued that a-ha have been more successfull in Europe in recent years, both in the charts and as a touring act.

Tickets are available here.

a-ha in Dubai and South Africa

Morten in Johannesburg, 15 February
(Picture by Brad W)

The Hunting High and Low tour continued in Dubai on 10 and 11 February, a place where a-ha performed for the very first time.

While the 20-song setlist was the same as before, there was no video wall at these shows – presumably because the Dubai Opera venue is fairly small. There was also new intro music before “Take On Me”, instead of the “Commuter” short film.

Both concerts were well-received by an appreciative audience.

YouTube videos from Dubai
Dubai photos and review by Richard Cawood

Last weekend it was South Africa’s turn, with the band performing their first concerts in the country since 1994. The two concerts in Cape Town on 14 February and in Johannesburg on 15 February were both outdoor shows and the response from the crowd was reportedly very good.

Once again, there was no video wall as stage backdrop this time, only two side screens – thus making the visual show a considerably more scaled-down version compared to the European tour. The setlist was also shortened, with both “Crying In the Rain” and “Digital River” being cut. And instead of an extended break after the album set, they went straight from “Here I Stand and Face the Rain” into “Sycamore Leaves” – shuffling songs around for the first time since the tour started in October.

Take on Me (Cape Town)    The Living Daylights (Cape Town)
I’ve Been Losing You (Johannesburg)    The Living Daylights (Johannesburg)

Before the Cape Town concert, Magne and Morten were interviewed for the TV show Afternoon Express. The segment can be seen on YouTube here (starts at 49:40).

 
Pictures from Johannesburg by Brad W:

 
South African setlist:
1. Take on Me
2. Train of Thought
3. Hunting High and Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines on TV
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
11. Sycamore Leaves
12. I’ve Been Losing You
13. Foot Of The Mountain
14. Analogue
15. The Swing Of Things
16. Stay On These Roads
– – – – – – – – – – – –
17. Scoundrel Days
18. The Living Daylights

Other links:
Cape Town photos by Leigh Groenemeyer
Cape Town photos by Warren Talmarkes
Cape Town review by “6000”
Johannesburg photos by Stefan Botha
Johannesburg review by Bruce Dennill

a-ha world tour 2020 opens in Norway

Trondheim Spektrum, 7 February 2020

After a two-month break from touring, a-ha opened the second leg of their Hunting High and Low 2019-2020 world tour with concerts at Nordlandshallen in Bodø on 1 February and at Trondheim Spektrum in Trondheim on 7 February. While the audience of 9,700 in Bodø was all-standing, the audience of 6,000 in Trondheim was all-seated.

Reviews in the local press were generally quite positive, with both Avisa Nordland (Bodø) and Adresseavisen (Trondheim) giving the concerts a 5 out of 6 rating. Adresseavisen’s reviewer called it “the best a-ha concert I can remember in Trondheim”, highlighting the band’s “authority and musical weight” and how they have “a clear and common vision” on this tour. He also praised the video production with its “incredibly elegant execution”.

The whole Trondheim concert was filmed, to be used as additional footage in the upcoming a-ha: The Movie documentary film.

The setlist remains the same as last year; starting with the HHAL-album being played in full, followed by ten additional songs after a 20-minute break.

 
Setlist
1. Take on Me
2. Train of Thought
3. Hunting High and Low
4. The Blue Sky
5. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
6. The Sun Always Shines on TV
7. And You Tell Me
8. Love is Reason
9. I Dream Myself Alive
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
(20-minute break)
11. Analogue
12. Foot of the Mountain
13. The Swing of Things
14. Crying in the Rain
15. Sycamore Leaves
16. Digital River
17. I’ve Been Losing You
18. Stay on These Roads
– – – – – – – – – – – –
19. Scoundrel Days
20. The Living Daylights

 
Bodø reviews and pictures:
Avisa Nordland review (5/6) (paywall)
Bodø Nu review (3/6) (paywall)
Bodø Nu photo gallery (paywall)

Trondheim reviews and pictures:
Adresseavisen review (5/6) (paywall)
Musikknyheter review (8/10)
Trondheim24 photo gallery

The tour continues with two concerts at the Dubai Opera today and tomorrow, followed by Cape Town and Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday.

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