I'll try and keep this brief, because I'm tired.

Back in 2002 (was it really that long ago? wow!), we went to see a-ha in concert, as part of their Lifelines Tour. Last night (Tuesday 6th December), we got to see them again -- this time for their Analogue Tour -- at the Manchester Evening News Arena.

Damn, but this was a good night. And fuck, did we have good seats. Second row from the stage! *faints* Morten was almost within touching distance! Take a look:



The Arena was packed out, and the show opened with a supporting act (Ane Brun). She was a female singer/songwriter who favoured acoustic guitar. However, she seemed to switch guitar between every song -- so by the end of her set, we were rather amused by this. That said, she was rather good and I may have to sample her forthcoming album when it's released, just to see what she's like in the studio.

a-ha came on stage around 8:30pm, and stayed for around two hours. The show was a rather casual one for the boys (geez, they're men now!) as Morten, Mags and Pal all opted for casual dress. But Morten did look good in his jeans and tee:



The first song was Celice, from their latest album (Analogue). Then they surprised us an oldie that I honestly didn't expect -- Move To Memphis (from the 1993 album Memorial Beach). The title track from their 1988 album, Stay On These Roads came next, followed by The Weight of the Wind (from 1986's Scoundrel Days).

Cosy Prisons, another new song, rocked us into the old favourites of Manhattan Skyline and Scoundrel Days (both from Scoundrel Days again). Then came one of their new ballads, Keeper of the Flame. Three tracks from their first album (1985's Hunting High and Low) followed, with the first one being a total surprise as it's not one I've known them to perform live: Living A Boy's Adventure Tale, Hunting High and Low (which had me almost in tears!) and the oh-so-well known Take On Me.



Two tracks from their 1990 album, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, followed next -- Crying In The Rain and I Call Your Name. And then came I've Been Losing You (yet another from Scoundrel Days!). Summer Moved On, from the band's 2000 comeback album, Minor Earth, Major Sky moves us sweetly into their 1987 Bond theme, The Living Daylights.

The boys seemed to be having a lot of fun on-stage, enjoying the music and each other as much as the crowd was. For instance, during The Living Daylights, Morten mocked being bored with the "spontaneous" extension of the musical bridge, which lead me to capturing this cracking shot:



The encore reaped another new track, Analogue (All I Want), which will be their first UK single from this album. The single is released on 23rd January, while the album has been out for a few weeks already. The boys then performed another crowd-pleaser, The Sun Always Shines On TV (from Hunting High and Low), before saying goodnight with Dark Is The Night For All (from Memorial Beach).



In all, the evening was excellent -- from davef and myself meeting ajv in a pub in Manchester, through sharing food and laughter, to arriving at the concert venue. Then the actual concert itself, which was stunning -- fabulous music, wonderful seats, the opportunity for great photographs (I took 33 in all!), superb lighting... *grins*

I was surprised that they didn't do any tracks from their last album, Lifelines, but still. I would have liked to see some tracks that they didn't perform -- such as Forever Not Yours (which they did in 2002 anyway), Waiting for Her, Here I Stand and Face the Rain and Slender Frame, another of my favourites. Oh well, maybe next time.

The band members themselves were fabulous -- Morten's amazing voice was a lot better this time, as the previous time we'd seen him he was battling a throat infection -- though he still had a few issues with the difficulties in Summer Moved On. That said, the way he held that note for so long ... And then the high afterwards... Wow. Oh wow.

I'm so grateful that I got to see my favourite band live again, and that I had friends there to share the experience with me. *beams*

Tags: concerts, music - a-ha, reviews - concerts
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: a-Ha - Slender Frame