A-Ha @ LG Arena, 19th November 2010

In support of their recent 25 album, the Ending on a High Note tour is A-Ha’s final series of shows before they lay the band to rest. Needless to say, I was one of the pre-teen female’s that was obsessed with the trio for a short amount of time in the 80’s; however, I never saw them perform live.

I have to admit to being cautious about the whole event, as I truly am uncertain as to what the standard of the evening’s entertainment will be. The band enter the stage and start straight away with one of their biggest hits, The Sun Always Shines on TV, which gets the crowd on side straight away. All dressed in similar suits, the band have remained noticeably good looking but they do have the essence of a Marks and Spencer advert about them. Apart from the aesthetics, the tight unit of the group is clear and Morten’s vocal range continues to impress.

The band have an additional drummer and keyboardist in their midst to allow them to replicate their distinctive sound on the live stage. Furthermore, they have an extensive backdrop of multiple screens displaying various images throughout the night, which, on the whole, tend to attract your attention more than the group. The set is a selection of their back catalogue including the power ballad of Stay On These Roads to the contrasting track of Manhattan Skyline, demonstrating Morten’s ability to switch from soft, gentle vocals to a rock edge within one song. Hunting High and Low is noticeably the stand out track of this first section of the main set, with its haunting melody and that develops into an immense crescendo before returning to its humble beginning. The band make minimal connection with audience, with Morten often wandering off to the side of the stage to the sound desk and a vast selection of the crowd appear lack lustre in their appreciation.

After a brief acoustic set, consisting of Butterfly, Butterfly and their version of the Everly Brothers’ song, Crying in the Rain, a-ha proceed through the set with a business like efficiency of a band doing a job and not truly loving the live performance. The encore includes the gems Cry Wolf and Living Daylights, which finally see the trio fully engage with the audience and Morten, use the whole stage, acknowledging that there are people seated in the side tiers. After exiting the stage once more for a brief period, there is only one song left, Take On Me. Of course, the arena erupts and you can do nothing but appreciate that, even 25 years on, Harket is still capable of reaching those incredible high notes. As they leave the LG Arena for the last time as a-ha, I am left feeling ‘meh’.

Were they terrible? No, not by a long shot, but there was something missing from the whole event and I think that was passion. It made me wish I had bullied my parents more, so I could have seen them in their heyday, full of zest in a sold out arena surrounded by people full of passion. On reflection, the most memorable part of the evening was seeing a woman, so determined to flash the band that she vaulted two barriers in a tight skirt, nearly breaking her neck in the process and then proceeding to ignore any attempts made by the security guards to return to her seat.

Review – Toni Woodward
Photos – John Mason

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