ZAG Arena, Hannover, 2 May 2022
(Photo by Jil)

a-ha started the European leg of the 2022 Hunting High and Low Tour in front of 2,500 people at Partille Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden on 28 April, before heading to Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark where they played for 10,000 people the following day.

The tour then continued at the O2 Arena in Prague on 1 May – their first ever concert in the Czech Republic – and at ZAG Arena in Hannover (5,000) on 2 May, the first of six shows in Germany this month.

ZAG Arena, Hannover, 2 May 2022
(Photo by Jil)

During their two-week hiatus from touring, Magne spent some time in Italy, Paul went back to work in his LA studio, while Morten relaxed in Southern Norway before getting his hair cut short again.

One major change when the tour resumed was the return of the giant 10-bit LED video screen, which has not been used since the concert in Trondheim on 7 February 2020. Only a basic light-rig was brought along for the shows outside of Europe.

Some footage from the upcoming True North movie, directed by Stian Andersen, was shown on the screen during the two new songs – at least in Gothenburg – which can be seen in these two video clips of “Forest For The Trees” and “You Have What It Takes”.

In its review of the Copenhagen concert, Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet remarked how “the songs were captivatingly presented, backed by a stylish stage show with effective use of a giant screen”, while the Czech news site Idnes praised the “imaginative and precisely fitting video projections”. “At times, it was an experience so intense that one could talk about the Pink Floyd of pop”, the reviewer wrote.

Ekstrabladet’s reviewer liked the new songs:
“Two solid new songs, from the upcoming film/album True North, showed how the band’s inherent musicality and songwriting qualities are generally somewhat underrated.” He also mentioned how “a more organic, rich and majestic sound suited the [Hunting High and Low] material”.

ZAG Arena, Hannover, 2 May 2022
(Photo by Jil)

The setlist is now basically switched around, compared to when the tour started in Argentina in late March, opening with the eight songs from “Sycamore Leaves” to “The Living Daylights” before the break and the ten songs from the Hunting High and Low album after the break. This change first appeared on the second night at The Wiltern in LA on 8 April.

“We have played the whole album in its original running order, but sometimes we’ll take some creative liberties and change the running order and the arrangements, not least to keep ourselves stay focused”, Magne told Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten in an interview last week (paywall).

The video graphics previously used as intro for “Analogue” at the beginning of the second set in 2019/20, now serves as intro before “Sycamore Leaves” to open the concert instead.

The current setlist

1. Sycamore Leaves
2. The Swing Of Things
3. Crying In The Rain
4. Forest For The Trees
5. You Have What It Takes
6. I’ve Been Losing You
7. Scoundrel Days
8. The Living Daylights
– – – – – – – – – – – –
9. Train of Thought
10. The Blue Sky
11. Living a Boy’s Adventure Tale
12. And You Tell Me
13. Love is Reason
14. I Dream Myself Alive
15. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
16. Hunting High and Low
17. The Sun Always Shines on TV
– – – – – – – – – – – –
18. Take On Me
– – – – – – – – – – – –

By the way, one final additional tour date was added recently:
01 July 2022: Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland