If you had told younger me that one day I'd be seeing Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha (Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy) live at the magnificent Radio City Music Hall, I would have called you crazy - and continued dancing to Take On Me in my living room. I have always been a fan of their work from the 80s so I was excited when I heard they would be coming to NYC as part of the 35th anniversary tour celebrating their debut album, Hunting High And Low. The critically acclaimed and commercially successful album peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the iconic video for Take On Me, with its groundbreaking sketch effects, won six MTV Video Awards in 1986. Incidentally, this show was their first in NYC in over a decade and their first Radio City Music Hall show in 36 years.
Firstly, I have to give them a thumbs up for actually starting on time (well, technically 15 minutes after the scheduled time but after waiting for Madonna for over 2 hours, 15 minutes is nothing) and diving right in to the music without an opening act. While the focus of the tour is Hunting High And Low, which they played in its entirety, I must admit I was a little disappointed that they didn't perform some of my favourites from their discography such as Cry Wolf, Stay On These Roads and Touchy. Although they did play a handful of popular hits, including The Living Daylights and Crying In The Rain, which was incredible live and really showcased their tender harmonies.
They also performed two songs from their upcoming 11th studio album, True North, set to be released in the fall (Forest For The Trees and a beautiful ballad, You Have What It Takes) along with a film with the same name showcasing one of their live performance along with clips from the picturesque landscapes of Norway.
Almost 40 years may have gone by since they recorded Hunting High And Low but they've still got that magic that made the album, and those that followed, so popular around the world. Another iconic band checked off my musical bucket list ✓
The complete setlist was as follows:
Sycamore Leaves
The Swing Of Things
Crying In The Rain
Forest For The Trees
You Have What It Takes
I've Been Losing You
Scoundrel Days
The Living Daylights
Hunting High And Low
Train Of Thought
The Blue Sky
Living A Boy's Adventure Tale
And You Tell Me
Love Is Reason
I Dream Myself Alive
Here I Stand And Face The Rain
Hunting High And Low
The Sun Always Shines on T.V.
Encore:
Take On Me
Comments
Post a Comment