A-ha play 3Arena 29th Oct 2019

Moznips

Tickets go on sale this Friday but if you sign up to a-ha's mailing list on their website you'll get a link to purchase tickets today !

1997

Moznips wrote: »

Tickets go on sale this Friday but if you sign up to a-ha's mailing list on their website you'll get a link to purchase tickets today !

Hey do you have to do anything else besides signing up?? Already am but recieved nothing?? Thks

RubyK

I got tickets yesterday, using 3plus (Three.ie mobile customer) :D

Thunder77

This will sell out in no time at all

Moznips

1997 wrote: »

Hey do you have to do anything else besides signing up?? Already am but received nothing?? Thks

i signed up a while ago. email with link was sent to my account on Tuesday evening and as far as i know the pre-sale tickets are now all sold out but the
general tickets on sale this Friday - best of luck!

Moznips

Thunder77 wrote: »

This will sell out in no time at all

i know! i was hoping they might add a date but they're playing Belfast the next night
i'm not a fan of seated concerts / not sure how this will work. Will you be able to stand at the stage or be told to sit???!!!!!

fabvinny

got mine this morning,saw them in cork during the summer and thought it was a great show! long time to wait though!!

jasonb

Only heard an Ad on the radio for this now, I'd heard nothing. After missing them down in Cork I thought I'd lost my chance of seeing them live.

Rang my wife to see if she'd like to go, and she reluctantly admitted that she'd already got us tickets for my upcoming birthday!! Am delighted!

Just read there that the second half of the show will be the whole of the Hunting High & Low album, that'll be cool to hear.

emo72

Hasn't sold out yet?

1997

Missed the Cork gig so absolutely chuft to get tix this time,roll on nxt October 😎

MfMan

Anyone know if more will be released for this concert in the 3? Hoping to pick up a couple.

The_Banker

Really would love to see A-Ha in The Point next week but there only seems to be VIP or Platinum tickets available on the site. These are very expensive... There are plenty available for re-sale on other sites at very inflated prices....
I also see re-sell tickets on Ticket master for slightly less than the actual price... whats the catch here? It seems a bit too good to be true...

Electric Nitwit

The_Banker wrote: »

Really would love to see A-Ha in The Point next week but there only seems to be VIP or Platinum tickets available on the site. These are very expensive... There are plenty available for re-sale on other sites at very inflated prices....
I also see re-sell tickets on Ticket master for slightly less than the actual price... whats the catch here? It seems a bit too good to be true...

Ticketmaster will add a booking fee but otherwise no catch, go for it

Resale tickets can be a maximum of face value (Inc original fees). I'd guess some people put them lower to increase the chance they'll sell

Ticketmaster will cancel the originals and transfer tickets to you. It's a very good service (surprisingly for ticketmaster! Though they do get to charge fees twice this way I guess)

The_Banker

Electric Nitwit wrote: »

Ticketmaster will add a booking fee but otherwise no catch, go for it

Resale tickets can be a maximum of face value (Inc original fees). I'd guess some people put them lower to increase the chance they'll sell

Ticketmaster will cancel the originals and transfer tickets to you. It's a very good service (surprisingly for ticketmaster! Though they do get to charge fees twice this way I guess)

Great, just purchased... my missus will be DELIGHTED !!!!!

Thanks for the quick reply

robo

The_Banker wrote: »

Really would love to see A-Ha in The Point next week but there only seems to be VIP or Platinum tickets available on the site. These are very expensive... There are plenty available for re-sale on other sites at very inflated prices....
I also see re-sell tickets on Ticket master for slightly less than the actual price... whats the catch here? It seems a bit too good to be true...

Did you try Toutless? If they've any tickets, they are usually normal prices.
Also not sure what happens to these "VIP" packages tickets if they don't sell them in the last days before the concert...rather than wasting the seats do they convert them to regular tickets? Might be worth keeping an eye on the site in case they do downgrade them.

Irish Aris

Stage Times as per 3Arena's facebook page:

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 8:00pm
Please note, there is no support.

If I have understood correctly, there will be an interval. First part will be a greatest hits of sorts and second part the Hunting High And Low album in it's entirety and the songs played in the sequence they appear on the album (not 100% sure about this last part).

Really looking forward to this tonight!! I saw them once before in 2004 (or 2005?) and remember being very impressed - especially Morten's voice!

delbertgrady

I don't think the first part will be all greatest hits - they've said it'll be "new and old, familiar and less-familiar songs" - but there are probably five or six hits that we're guaranteed. They did eighteen songs in Cork last year, without an interval, so I'd expect maybe ten songs in addition to the Hunting and and Low ones, including the encore. That would be potentially six "hits" and four deep cuts (only three songs in Cork were album tracks). I just wonder if the recent Minor Earth Major Sky and Lifelines reissues will prompt them to pull something really unexpected out of the bag, like The Breakers. :eek::)

Zardoz

Irish Aris wrote: »

If I have understood correctly, there will be an interval. First part will be a greatest hits of sorts and second part the Hunting High And Low album in it's entirety and the songs played in the sequence they appear on the album (not 100% sure about this last part).

They've switched it around .
The first part will be Hunting High and Low in its entirety ,then an interval then other songs.

Its not going to be a great setlist from what I can see ,Cork last year was a good mix of greatest hits.
Sound should be alot better tonight ,it was terrible in the Marquee .

Morten is a poor frontman though ,was very disappointed with him in Cork ,hanging back at the back of the stage with his hand in his pocket for large parts .

wacotaco

Guys , something came up last minute so we have 3 Flat Seated tickets available. Will sell below face so pm me if you know anyone interested.

king size mars bar

Was at gig tonight, thought it was a good show, what did ye folk think?

ConcertKing

king size mars bar wrote: »

Was at gig tonight, thought it was a good show, what did ye folk think?

Thought it was good but not a patch on the Marquee show in 2018 in Cork .

Morten had the same issues with the sound engineer as in Cork as well by the looks of it.

I also find the interval absolutely ridiculous as well as it ruins the flow of the concert.

Must say I am absolutely gobsmacked they didn't sing Manhattan Skyline which is my favourite song by them.Still gutted.

Mike Guide 69

First time seen by them live and I really enjoyed it,Mortens stage presence is a bit meh!!!, but was impressed by his voice ,yeah on a couple of occasions ,you could see him wander over to the side of the stage and have words with the engineers ,he was obviously experiencing some feed back issues.

But overall,solid set from the band ,the videos on the screen were amazing particularly the video playing to “Hunting High and Low” was unreal, was also impressed by “Stay on These Roads” and “I’ve Been Losing You”.

Had a great view of the stage ,was in Block B about halfway up although I did feel sorry for one group of attendees. In Block C and I don’t know if anyone noticed but there was this one girl who constantly stood up and was blocking the views of a few behind her,despite been warned on a least 5 occasions by security she still persisted in standing and waving her arms aloft. I don’t think think she was all there to be honest but security should have thrown her a*se out of the venue earlier!!!!

delbertgrady

I enjoyed it, and some of it was really fantastic, but the Cork Marquee gig is still the high water mark for me, along with the Analogue tour.
Morten was very distracted all night, especially in the first half, where he even had issues with his cues. He was constantly tweaking his monitors (or instructing them to be adjusted), giving the impression of someone at a run-through or dress rehearsal, rather than an actual concert.
I don't know if this was first night nerves or just his usual perfectionism, but it was unfortunate, as he seemed constantly distracted. Magne has always been the MC at a-ha shows, but Morten did less tonight - in terms of addressing the crowd or simply moving around the stage - than at any show I've seen before.
The second half was arguably better. They were playing material that's been played live much more often, and it looked like Morten settled a bit, though he was still restless.
But his vocals can't be faulted. Maybe that's the price the audience pays. Fussiness over the monitors and a lack of engagement helps him deliver his best performance.
As a fan of the Live in South America material, I'm on board with anything where Paul is delivering 200% extra guitar, which happened more in the second half.

I do agree it's high risk to leave out something like Manhattan Skyline. Contentious!

My prediction of their doing ten non-Hunting High and Low songs - comprising six "hits" and four album tracks - was almost spot on. Six singles, three album tracks and a new song.

Highlights for me: The Sun Always Shines on TV, Here I Stand and Face the Rain, Analogue, Foot of the Mountain, Sycamore Leaves.

Zardoz

Morten always seems to be distracted and generally disinterested .
Hand in his pocket, finger in his ear ,hanging back on the stage ,with almost no interaction with the other band members or the crowd .
He readily admits he isnt a showman .

I’m not a showman. I’m not an entertainer, I’m an engager. I never sell myself, in a sense.

First time playing Dublin since 2002 ,the setlist that they played wouldn't have been ideal to be honest ,needed more hits.
I'm not really a fan of playing an album in its entirety and starting with Take on Me is a bit crazy.

20 songs with a band of their back catalogue isnt enough ,should be playing 24-25.

Morten is 60 now but a very fit man so he should be able to handle it.

jasonb

First time seeing them live, and I really enjoyed it. Loved them when I was a kid, and while I don't know all of their albums since, I did get the unplugged album last year, and that got me checking out some of the songs from their later albums, so I was pleasantly surprised to recognise all but two songs last night, and one of them was new.

Thought the atmosphere was excellent, a lot of love in the room for them, and from what I can see it was sold out. Of course, we'd a guy behind us talking/shouting throughout most of the gig, but he eventually left early. Not even sure why he was there, he was easily pushing his late 60s and at one point he shouted that he doesn't even like 80s music, so he was hardly a 'fan'.

Anyhow, while I haven't seen them live before, the video of the unplugged gig, and seeing other videos online, showed that Morten doesn't interact too much, and he *always* seems to be unhappy with his in-ear monitors and the sound etc. So I wasn't too surprised to see him walking over to the sound desk on the side of the stage a few times last night. As someone said above, Mags is the MC for the night and does nearly all the audience interaction. I actually thought the sound was really good, occasionally Morten was slightly drowned out by the instruments, but it was rare.

I quite like hearing a whole album, as long as you know that's what at least some of the gig is about. I arrived expecting to hear all of Hunting High & Low in order at the start, as I'd read that online, and I was delighted to get it. People near us arrived late and the first thing they asked was 'have they done Crying In The Rain yet?' and grumbled a bit about them playing all the songs from one album. I guess they didn't read what they were buying tickets for.

From the first half of the gig, I thought they were remarkedly true to the album. The only real differences were Love Is Reason, which they made less cheesy pop (it's probably the cheesiest song on the album) and Dream Myself Alive, which they said was the demo version. Following the layout of the album meant it was always going to be a little weird playing their most famous song first, but it also got the crowd immediately going (The Frank & Walters did this last year at Feile Classical and opened with 'After All' and it worked there too). The video screen was excellent throughout the night and I loved how the videos in the background were similiar-ish to the videos from the singles at the time.

20 mins for an Interval is a little too much alright, I would rather a 10 minute interval and a couple more songs in the second half of the show. I'm sure they have their reasons, and to be fair, they at least put up on screen that it would be 20 minutes, and with the countdown no-one was left wondering how longer would it be.

Second half was more like a normal gig, wondering what song was next. I loved Analog and Foot of the Mountain, but the highlights for me were probably Swing of Things (one of those album tracks that I loved at the time and didn't expect to hear live) and I've Been Losing You (one of my favourite songs by them). Loved that they played Scoundrel Days in the encore too. Wouldn't have minded hearing Manhattan Skyline or I Call Your Name, and they could have played a little longer, they have the songs for it, but all in all I loved the gig and after 34 years it was great to finally see them. My 11 year old self is very happy!

Irish Aris

I really enjoyed the show. I think Morten has aged very well!! I don't mind him being a bit static on stage, I don't think he ever was the most energetic performer. But boy, can he still hit those high notes and the falsetto in his voice still sounds great!!
I thought that because it was the beginning of the tour, the band isn't totally in sync yet, I felt that a couple of song endings sounded. . . unsure (for lack of a better word), these will be ironed out as the tour progresses

Mike Guide 69, I agree that most of the videos were really beautiful!!

Setlist had a couple of big omissions (agree about Manhattan Skyline, and maybe Cry Wolf or The Blood That Moves The Body - then the concert would have hit the 2-hours mark). But no big complaints, the played The Swing of Things (one of my favourites) and closing with The Livind Daylights was awesome!! I also liked the new song!!

ooter

thought the gig was good, he (morten) is what he is but jaysus he is no craic at all

Outlaw Pete

Was in the flat seating (ie the standing area, given nobody sat for the entire gig which annoyed some people who asked to be moved to seats in the tiers).

Morten was rolling his eyes and motioning to the side of stage to adjust things almost every song I thought. Was kind of distracting. Hadn't seen them before so no idea if this is just him. He almost never smiles either (apart from at the end) and why wasn't he wearing 27 leather arm bracelets! Disgraceful.

Anyway, as for the gig, we loved it and Mags more than makes up for Morten's laid back approach to it all. His almost constant interaction with the crowd is crucial given how enthusiastic their fanbase are. Paul is a phenomenal guitarist and a great showman when he gets to show off his skills on more electric guitar centric tracks.

Was delighted they played Scoundrel Days and Swing of Things, didn't think I'd get to hear them.

delbertgrady

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

Paul is a phenomenal guitarist and a great showman when he gets to show off his skills on more electric guitar centric tracks.

Always the high point of any a-ha gig for me. I'm a happy guy when Paul breaks out the Gibson SG. The Sun Always Shines on TV was phenomenal.

VONSHIRACH

Thoroughly enjoyed my first A-Ha concert last night. As the tour is named after the hunting high and low album it comprised the first half of the concert. Take on me is first song on the album so it was both a stunning opening and good homage to their origins. Am familiar with all songs on the album and was surprised a lot of attendees not au fait with some of these tracks but I guess songs have different meanings to some people. Back in the day I listened to this album in bed on my reversible Sony Walkman last thing before nodding off before college next day. Morten obviously had issues with his earpiece and sound so he was right to correct when necessary. I had no problem with interval, it was a refreshing change from the bedlam of take that and an opp to down another beverage. Was sitting in front of stage and had no option but to stand when everyone in front of us stood up but not a problem for us. Regarding Manhattan Skyline, it’s a big tune to leave out, unless it’s out of respect to the World Trade Centre as the lyrics are pretty emotive, that’s the first thing I thought about.

delbertgrady

Excellent show in Belfast. Morten was clearly not as troubled with his monitors as the previous night. A lot of adjusting and a lot of gestures and directions given offstage, but nowhere near as bad as he was in Dublin.
The setlist was the same, but they'd obviously grown more confident with it after the first night. Some of the performances were really superb.

MfMan

Echo what others have said. Pretty good show in the 3, but Morten was all night distracted by the mikes in his ears, this can in turn be a bit offputting for the audience. Also was hoping for Manhatten Skyline, but Stay On These Roads was my highlight.

delbertgrady

Because Digital River was posted on You Tube from the Dublin show, I was able to re-listen to it a few times prior to Belfast, and that added familiarity really helped. It's a great song. Delighted I did the two shows.

jasonb

This isn't about the gig but I thought it might be a good place to ask...

At the end of the last verse in Scoundrel Days, the lyrics are

'But I know that I've made it, as I run into the air'

Then, just before the chorus starts, it sounds like something else is sung. I know Morten liked making little noises etc. in some songs, but it does sound like words to me. Anyone else notice this, and what do you think he's singing? I've always thought it was a particular sentence, but I won't say it in case that makes someone listen out for those words in particular.

Thanks...

Outlaw Pete

'Oh no, you're here!'

Zardoz

delbertgrady wrote: »

Because Digital River was posted on You Tube from the Dublin show, I was able to re-listen to it a few times prior to Belfast, and that added familiarity really helped. It's a great song. Delighted I did the two shows.

Very good song ,it seems its a song from the Cast In Steel sessions in 2015 that didn’t make it onto the album.
Was there a good crowd in Belfast ?

jasonb

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

'Oh no, you're here!'

Yes! Although I've always heard it as 'Oh no, you're there'. No mention of it in the lyrics etc., and it completely changes the end of the story of the song. Glad to know I wasn't imagining all these years. Never heard him sing that line in any live versions.

delbertgrady

Zardoz wrote: »

Very good song ,it seems its a song from the Cast In Steel sessions in 2015 that didn’t make it onto the album.
Was there a good crowd in Belfast ?

It wasn't totally full, but I love the fact that they couldn't even fill the Point in 2002, and they come back seventeen years later to a sold out 3Arena and very respectable SSE crowd.
The flat seats at the back of the ground floor were sparsely populated, but that's because they're the worst seats in the place. The tiered seats were all full. They posted a shot of Magne leading the audience participation of The Living Daylights online (Instagram and Facebook) and it gives a really good view of the crowd.
The atmosphere was probably better in Dublin, because people stood up at the outset and remained standing, whereas the SSE security were very fussy about people staying in their seats. Apparently, people were Tweeting at the interval about how ridiculous this was. There's also a photo online of a woman reaching up to Morten and there are effectively three security guards trying to contain her. They're not being heavy handed, but it just looks a little bit excessive. So near and yet so far.

Zardoz

Nice post on the A-ha website about Dublins concert

https://a-ha.com/past-tours/hunting-high-and-low-live/3arena/29/10/2019

It had been a long time coming, in a number of ways. First of all, it had been 17 years since our last visit. Secondly, the show had been sold out for a year, so we knew we had some patient, but eager, people waiting. Thirdly, the HHAL world tour was finally kicking off, after 18 months of rehearsals, design and preparation and it was becoming urgent to show you what we had been working on. As usual there had been some twists and turns along the way, but it still seemed possible to land on our feet. We usually do, even though it may not always look like it!

Had a taste of Ireland for the first time for too long last year in Cork, and it was a massive experience. But I guess that is what you get if you put 5000 people in a tent on an electric summer night in Roy Keane’s hometown. This time around, 3 Arena was waiting for us. An incredibly cool room for its size (not all of the big ones are), filled to the hilt. Starting the show with Mike Patterson’s brilliant short film «Commuter» is like putting the audience in pressure cooker, but it pays off when you can blow the lid off it with Take On Me.

Famous Dubliner and true genius Oscar Wilde once said that youth is wasted on the young.

A statue right next to the hotel of another genius that left us way too early, Mr. Phil Lynnot, is another reminder to appreciate what you have, and take nothing for granted. And the reception from that beautiful crowd in a red hot arena by the river underlined the point. Thank you, Dublin! See you in a lot less than 17 years!