Union Scene, Drammen, September 9th
(Picture by Rune Tønnessen)

a-ha played a 50-minute rehearsal concert at Union Scene in Drammen, Norway yesterday, in front of around 600 people – most of which had won tickets at a Platekompaniet signing session in Oslo the day before.

The band has been rehearsing at Union Scene over the last few weeks to prepare for the upcoming South American tour, and this was the final dress rehearsal before heading to Luna Park in Buenos Aires, although the full shows are likely to include twice as many songs.

A 14-minute video with clips from all the songs performed in Drammen has been posted on YouTube, courtesy of Rune Tønnessen.

Three songs from Cast In Steel were played live for the first time last night, while “Sycamore Leaves” appeared in the setlist for the first time since 2004 – now with Morten singing it instead of Paul. “Early Morning” was played as a full band version, instead of the acoustic version they’ve usually done in the 2000s.

The biggest surprise was probably “Soft Rains of April”, which has rarely been played live since the late 80s – apart from the HHAL/SD concerts with the Oslo Philhamonics in 2010.

Setlist:
(with links to other YouTube clips)
1. The Wake
2. I’ve Been Losing You
3. Cry Wolf
4. Hunting High and Low
5. Forest Fire
6. Early Morning
7. Sycamore Leaves
8. Soft Rains of April
9. Under The Makeup
10. The Sun Always Shines on TV
– – – – – – – – – – – –
11. Foot of the Mountain

Just as on the two previous tours, a-ha are joined by Karl Oluf Wennerberg on drums and Erik Ljunggren on synth/programming, while new bassist Even Ormestad is going on tour with the band for the first time.

Reports from some of the fans who were at the show seem to indicate that the sound is less polished and more rock-oriented than it was in 2009-2010, with Paul bringing out his Gibson SG Fano Alt de Facto ML6 guitar for some heavy riffs.

Concert reviews:
VG: Konturene av et nytt a-ha – for tredje gang…
Dagsavisen Fremtiden: Gøy på øving
Rock and Roll Dreams: Klar til avreise