Archive for the ‘a-ha’ Category

Recife concert

Morten was flown by helicopter to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with pharyngitis and tonsillitis.

Morten was flown by helicopter to a local hospital where
he was diagnosed with pharyngitis and tonsillitis.

Because of his throat infection Morten’s voice was in even worse shape last night in Recife. Therefore the setlist was shortened by another two songs, leaving out “Summer Moved On” and “The Swing Of Things”.

Despite undergoing medical treatment in a local hospital earlier in the day, Morten was almost voiceless when the band entered the stage at the Chevrolet Hall nearly an hour late, as you can see in this clip.

The air conditioning was reportedly switched off in the venue, which made the temperature unbearably hot. But his voice did seem to get better later in the concert.

Under different circumstances the show would perhaps have been cancelled, to prevent any damage to his vocal chords that could affect future concerts, but I guess since it’s the Farewell Tour with little chance of rescheduling they went ahead anyway.

“I’ve lost my voice, as you can hear, but I don’t want to cancel the show. So you need to help me”, Morten told the crowd before “Minor Earth Major Sky”.

The setlist:

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Minor Earth Major Sky
6. Move To Memphis
7. The Blood That Moves The Body
8. Stay On These Roads
9. The Living Daylights
10. Crying In The Rain
11. Scoundrel Days
12. Manhattan Skyline
13. I’ve Been Losing You
14. We’re Looking For The Whales
15. Cry Wolf
————
16. Hunting High And Low
17. The Sun Always Shines On TV
————
18. Take On Me

Brasilia concert

Brasilia, March 16th

Brasilia, March 16th

a-ha played for an audience of 5000 people at the large indoor sports arena Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia yesterday. Morten was struggling with his voice because he’s gotten a throat infection. This caused the concert to be the shortest of the tour so far, with only 20 songs on the setlist.

I need you to help me out today, because I have a throat infection“, Morten told the audience – as you can see in this video clip. And they were happy to oblige, singing along whenever Morten held out the microphone to the crowd.

Setlist:

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Minor Earth Major Sky
6. Summer Moved On
7. Move To Memphis
8. The Blood That Moves The Body
9. Stay On These Roads
10. The Living Daylights
11. Crying In The Rain
12. Scoundrel Days
13. The Swing Of Things
14. Manhattan Skyline
15. I’ve Been Losing You
16. We’re Looking For The Whales
17. Cry Wolf
————-
18. Hunting High And Low
19. The Sun Always Shines On TV
————-
20. Take On Me

Belo Horizonte concert

Belo Horizonte, March 14th

Belo Horizonte, March 14th

An audience of 5500 witnessed the sold-out concert at the Chevrolet Hall in Belo Horizonte yesterday. No surprises in the setlist this time. “You Are The One” was not played last night and the band seems to be alternating between 22 and 23 songs.

Here is the setlist:

Belo Horizonte, March 14th

Belo Horizonte, March 14th

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Minor Earth Major Sky
6. Summer Moved On
7. Move To Memphis
8. The Blood That Moves The Body
9. Stay On These Roads
10. The Living Daylights
11. Early Morning
12. Crying In The Rain
13. Scoundrel Days
14. The Swing Of Things
15. Manhattan Skyline
16. I’ve Been Losing You
17. We’re Looking For The Whales
18. Cry Wolf
———–
19. Train Of Thought
20. Hunting High And Low
21. The Sun Always Shines On TV
———–
22. Take On Me

Festival dates in Japan

Two festival dates in Japan were announced on a-ha.com a while ago, only to be removed shortly afterwards. The dates now seem to be back on, with the Summer Sonic festival’s website now featuring a-ha as part of its lineup.

The festival is held in Tokyo and Osaka on 7 and 8 August.

Rio concert

Rio, March 13th

Rio, March 13th

The band had yet another surprise in store when they played before an audience of 7000 people at the Citibank Hall in Rio de Janeiro yesterday; an acoustic version of “You Are The One”, a song that hasn’t been played live since 1991.

The new acoustic-ish version of “Minor Earth Major Sky” remained in the setlist, while “Touchy” seems to have been dropped after its only appearance in Bauru.

The setlist (via a-ha.com):

Rio, March 13th

Rio, March 13th

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Minor Earth Major Sky
6. Summer Moved On
7. Move To Memphis
8. The Blood That Moves The Body
9. Stay On These Roads
10. The Living Daylights
11. Early Morning
12. You Are The One
13. Crying In The Rain
14. Scoundrel Days
15. Swing Of Things
16. Manhattan Skyline
17. I’ve Been Losing You
18. We’re Looking For The Whales
19. Cry Wolf
—————
20. Train Of Thought
21. Hunting High And Low
22. The Sun Always Shines On TV
—————
23. Take On Me

Press reviews: O Globo   Rock em Geral

Wennerberg speaks

Karl Oluf Wennerberg

Karl Oluf Wennerberg

a-ha/magne f-drummer Karl Oluf Wennerberg, who comes from the small town of Vennesla in southern Norway, is interviewed by his local newspaper Vennesla Tidende today.

I’m looking forward to playing in every city, it’s really fun. There’s been a good atmosphere so far. The highlight will probably be the concert at Sør Arena [in Kristiansand] on September 11th. It will be special to be on home ground“, Wennerberg says.

A translation of the whole interview, which was done over the phone in Bauru on Tuesday, can be found in the articles section here.

 

a-ha.com on Twitter continues to provide small updates from the tour. Here is a picture of Magne with Brazilian football legends Junior and Zico.

The “a-ha The Best” blog has more pictures from this meeting.

Sao Paulo concert

Sao Paulo, March 10th

Sao Paulo, March 10th

Last night’s concert at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo saw some positive changes to the setlist, with “Minor Earth Major Sky” (new acoustic version) and “The Swing Of Things” being added. “Touchy” (which didn’t really seem to work the previous night) was dropped, along with “And You Tell Me” and “Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale”.

The concert was sold out, which meant around 7500 people in the audience.

The setlist (with YouTube-links):

Sao Paulo, March 10th

Sao Paulo, March 10th

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Summer Moved On
6. Minor Earth Major Sky
7. Move To Memphis
8. Stay On These Roads
9. The Blood That Moves The Body
10. The Living Daylights
11. Early Morning
12. Crying In The Rain
13. Scoundrel Days
14. The Swing Of Things
15. Manhattan Skyline
16. We’re Looking For The Whales
17. I’ve Been Losing You
18. Cry Wolf
————
19. Train Of Thought
20. The Sun Always Shines On TV
21. Hunting High And Low
22. Take On Me

Brazilian press reviews: Terra   UOL Musica   R7   MTV Brazil   Rolling Stone Brazil   Yahoo Brazil   Yahoo picture set on Flickr

Now the band has a few days off before the next concert in Rio on Saturday.

BTW, the concert in Brasilia on the 16th has been moved from Centro de Convenciones to Ginasio Nilson Nelson, which is a larger venue.

Bauru concert

Bauru, March 9th

Bauru, March 9th

a-ha played the first of seven Brazilian concerts yesterday – and their first ever show in the city of Bauru.

The concert was held in a huge tent that had been set up in the parking lot outside the Alameda Quality Center and attracted an audience of 3 000 people.

With 23 songs in total, the setlist was even longer than in Buenos Aires and included a rare performance of “Touchy” – which hasn’t been played live since 1994. In addition, several songs were shuffled around during the last half of the set.

The setlist (with YouTube-links):

Bauru, March 9th

Bauru, March 9th

1. The Bandstand
2. Foot Of The Mountain
3. Analogue
4. Forever Not Yours
5. Summer Moved On
6. Move To Memphis
7. Crying In The Rain
8. Stay On These Roads
9. Touchy
10. The Blood That Moves The Body
11. The Living Daylights
12. Early Morning
13. And You Tell Me
14. Scoundrel Days
15. Manhattan Skyline
16. We’re Looking For The Whales
17. I’ve Been Losing You
18. Cry Wolf
————–
19. Train Of Thought
20. The Sun Always Shines On TV
21. Living A Boy’s Adventure Tale
22. Hunting High And Low
————–
23. Take On Me

 
During “Take On Me” Morten asked security to bring a fan in the audience called Viviane up on stage. You can see a picture she took on stage together with Morten here. “The most unforgettable moment in my life“, she said afterwards.

More pictures from the concert can be seen on 94 FM‘s website and in this set on Flickr.

Local reviews: Jornal da Cidade

Here is a short interview clip from TV TEM and here is a look backstage before the concert.

New date for Chile

Good news for fans in Chile; the Santiago concert that had to be cancelled last week because of the earthquake has now been rescheduled for 23 March.

The venue will be the same, Movistar Arena, and tickets purchased for the original date can be used on the 23rd. Read more on a-ha.com.

 

Also on a-ha.com; some info about the well-known German fans Judith, Petra and Judith, who are once again following the band on tour in Brazil. Their Twitter updates can be seen at twitter.com/jpjontour.

Interview with Paul

There is an interview with Paul in the Bauru newspaper Jornal da Cidade today. Here are a few quotes:

Buenos Aires, March 4th

Buenos Aires, March 4th

JC – What are the expectations of the band regarding the Brazilian public?
Paul – The tours that we remember most are from South America and the times when we were in Brazil are very special to us. It is even a little funny because we always did more shows in Europe and North America, but they started telling us that we were very successful in Brazil and that we should include the country on tour. When we finally visited Brazil, we were impressed with the care, attention and the amount of fans we had here. For me, the first time we played in Brazil was particularly special because it was as if we were playing live for the first time. The audience was different and gave us a new feeling because we had never played in such big and open stadiums. It really changed the way we were performing.

JC – What do you like about Brazil?
Paul – It’s hard to compete with the Brazilian public. You are very passionate, caring and have a unique energy. I remember we were impressed with this concert at Rock in Rio II that I mentioned, because there were people who stood in line for more than nine hours and still had the energy to sing and jump during the show. This is amazing. Brazilians give of themselves completely and I do not find these features anywhere else in the world. Let’s say that each country has a “taste” and the Brazilian “taste” is very striking.

JC – Is there a chance that the band will meet up again in the future?
Paul – “Forever” does not exist. Nothing is eternal. We don’t know what can happen in the future. I won’t say that we will never again be reunited as a-ha, but right now we are saying goodbye, yes.

JC – What do you intend to do from now on?
Paul – I really want to keep writing and working on music, working with new artists. Maybe I’ll form a new band. I have written songs and I’ll see what to do with them. Magne formed another band and they even released an album, but I think none of us have decided exactly what to do in the future because we still have much work to do on this last tour. But surely the music will continue in our lives.

The whole interview in Portuguese can be found on Jornal da Cidade’s website here, or you can read an English translation provided by Google Translate here.

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