Choosing tracks from seven of their 9 studio albums, a-ha officially opened their 3 month euro tour for the last album "foot of the mountain" 31 dates ranging from Germany to Norway to UK to Poland and Russia and Ireland. a-ha in an interview yesterday on German TV did not look and sound like a band that is calling it quits after next year. But as MAGS said in the interview, "there comes a time when you have to draw the line and go out on a high note" and a-Ha are doing all that, with a top 10 album a sold out tour, and then to be followed next year by a final tour called "Ending on a High Note" a 25 year retrospective not leaving one country un-touched.

the set list from the German opener



Last night a-ha opened their 'Foot of the Mountain' tour in Cologne, Germany at the Lanxess Arena. The band played a set that included songs from seven of their albums, using some new arrangements on classics like 'Manhattan Skyline' and 'Velvet'. The mood in the arena was 'electric'.
Here is the setlist:
The Sun Always Shines on TV
Riding the Crest
The Bandstand
Scoundrel Days
Stay on These Roads
Manhattan Skyline
Hunting High and Low
The Blood That Moves The Body
Dream Myself Alive
And You Tell Me
Velvet
Train of Thought
Sunny Mystery
Forever Not Yours
Shadowside
Summer Moved On
Foot of the Mountain

Encore:

Cry Wolf
Analogue
The Living Daylights

Second Encore:

Take On Me


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lastdecember said:

Interesting set list.I heard about half of them at the London gig last month. The rework of Manhattan Skyline was the best live rendition yet.

Love the fact that The Blood That Moves The Body is back, as well as I Dream Myself Alive, but I can't believe the latest single isn't in there.

If they could just see fit to chuck in Angel Of Snow and Waiting For Her by the London Gig on Wednesday, I'll be a happy man.


It will be interesting to see what they choose to do for the Ending on a high note tour.....mmmm dream set list.....


The Shapes that go together
Train of thought
Living a boys adventure tale
Minor Earth Major Sky
I've been losing you
Hunting High & Low
Wating For Her
The Living daylights
Dark is the night
The swing of things
Manhattan Skyline
You'll never get over me
Lifelines
Out of blue comes green
Analogue
You are the one
Foot of the mountain
The Summer of our youth

The Sun always shines on TV
Stay on these roads
Take on me

SquirrelMeat said:

Yeah i was shocked that the latest single wasnt in there, i do know when asked about "nothing is keeping you here" they seemed a little "put off" by having to wait for the video to be finished in the editing room, they were almost looking like they were going to say that they were not pleased with it at all, and being the video hasnt been shown something might be up on that. And no "shadowside" inclusion is odd. Love your dream setlist i agree on it, for me im hoping that the closing song on the High Note tour is "dark is the night" i think its so fitting, i mean the opening line "its time to say goodbye" what better fitting words. I loved the latest interview in Germany (though i couldnt understand a word and the translator kept talking over them) they were in SUPER high spirits, if only ALL groups could end like that. I have a feeling that the "high note" tour in america will be alot of the early, when they did the one-off show here in NYC in 2005 to promote "Analogue" (though it didnt come out here) they played 4 songs from it and then featured primarily on the early stuff, they opened with "Scoundrel Days" and the place went nuts and sang it WORD FOR WORD so much for a one-hit wonder. They didnt do anything from "minor earth" or "Lifelines" which was kind of a letdown, because it was the only time i ever got to see them, they hadnt played here since 1986 and i missed them on that tour, and then never came here again. So i really wanted to hear more from 2000-on but it was a chance to see them and knowing it would be awhile before they came to NYC again, i couldnt complain, plus i got to shank hands with them before the show outside Irving Plaza, and of course the day before meeting them in TIMES SQUARE when they did an impromptu performance of "take on me" (its on YouTube) using street musicians instruments that were set up. CLASSIC!

FUCKING AWESOME they havent done this song in ages, love the way they are performing it, just as they recorded it, 25+ years ago, and almost 30 since they did the demos.

By the way, a-Ha had to play synths because they spent all their money in 1983 and so the demos had to be done cheap and synths were the cheapest way.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...1EHmFYRGyk

"and you tell me' live in germany 10/29/09

I attended the London Show at the 02 arena tonight. Great show. Set list was the same as Germany. For me the highlight was great renditions of Velvet and I dream myself alive. Shadowside was great too and it was great to get The blood that moves the body back in the set.

Mags cleared up confusion with the audience and told us the band would be back in London one last time next year.

Stage was clean and sparse but with great screens, across the whole back, which included the ability to draw on with a wireless pad. Something Mags had great fun playing with.

At one point, it looked like Pal was actually going to engage with the audience, but he backed off, smiled and said thank you.

The show wasn't quite sold old, but I would say they probably sold 20,000 of the 23,000 seats. Great turn out for a band people didn't think existed anymore!

awesome set. love the fact that scoundrel days is being played, and of course i think Sun Always Shines on TV is the essential a-ha opener.

only complaint would be nothing from east of the sun, west of the moon (unless i missed something.) That album is so amazing start to finish.

this would be my dream setlist

1. The Sun Always Shines on TV
2. Scoundrel Days
3. Nothing is Keeping You Here
4. Cold River
5. Cosy Prisons
6. Shadowside
7. Birthright
8. Train of Thought
9. The Living Daylights
10. Here I Stand and Face the Rain
11. White Dwarf
12. The Swing of Things
13. Hunting High and Low
14. Lie Down in Darkness
15. Forever Not Yours
16. Dark Is the Night For All
17. This Alone is Love
18. Velvet
19. Foot of the Mountain
20. Summer Moved On

Encore 1

21. Riding the Crest
22. I've Been Losing You
23. Manhattan Skyline
24. Analogue

Encore 2

25. Take On Me

oh something else I noticed about a-ha the other day. The have more plays on last.fm than just about any other band considered "80's" - apart from Duran Duran, and only barely.

It's funny that in the 80s it seemed a-ha and DD were not really close in terms of popularity (Duran Duran being far far more popular), but 25 years on, they are very close together. Just goes to show you how good a legacy a-ha is leaving. They have more plays on last.fm than bands like Eurythmics, Human League, etc - - by far.
[Edited 11/4/09 17:31pm]

NoVideo said:

Well i have always felt that a-Ha were WB's answer to Duran Duran, but in reality a-Ha were so much deeper, where as Duran Duran where drawn to fashion and looks like magnets, a-Ha was dragged to it by force, and when they fought it, they got slapped and avoided, at least in america. a-Ha never wanted to be the "teeny magazine boys" thats how lead singer morten puts it. Of all the bands of that day (pop that is) he mentions Depeche Mode being the ones that they have always been into and respected, and i can see where that comes from. I know people will say im partial to a-Ha but owning everything by all of those bands from those days from start to today, i feel a-Ha is the deepest strongest band of all, and i feel the resurgence in 2000 is what got them that stature and respect from their peers years later. a-ha took it somewhere that the others didnt quite get too, and the reason i feel is that ALL MEMBERS are strong and can stand on their own as artists, i dont feel that about all the bands they came up with, they actually may be the only ones.

i love Duran Duran but there is no comparison artistically between them and a-ha, imho. DD has always heavily relied on outside collaborators, writers and producers.

NoVideo said:

Yeah i feel the same way, always love DD and im there for anything they release , but i remember when i bought "Foot of the Mountain" cd here in NYC at Rebel Rebel (the import shop here) and i have the known the guy who owns the store for close to 20 years and he even said that its interesting a-Ha seemed to keep on growing where as other bands seemed to stand still from their time. DD i cant really compare mainly because of all the breaks and line-up shifts, i mean a-Ha its always been those 3, no change in lineup, and they really have maintained a level of success in many markets, i think when people actually look at them as a FULL PAINTING and not one song, they will realize this IMO was one of the most important band of the last 25 years in the pop genre, possibly the last one.

Just premiered the third video from the million plus selling "Foot of the mountain" cd, "Nothing is keeping you here" with yet another re-mix of the single, now 5 re-done versions exist for this album of the first 3 singles.

And the clip.....Love the version of this song

Amazing clips turning up on YouTube of the current tour, an acoustic set being played during the show, amazing version of "Velvet" one of their best songs ever, and of course going back to "and you tell me" amazing. I wonder if they will keep the same kind of show plan for the "end on a high note" tour in 2010

lastdecember said:

Great video, what are the 5 versions?
Shadowside (single remix)
Nothing is keeping..(single remix)
Nothing is keeping..(video version)
?
?

Are you including the dance remix of Foot of the mountain? Or the movie instrumental version of Nothing?

Love them all....

lastdecember said:

Velvet was the highlight of the show in my eyes. I love it when the three of them take over the stage for a bit.

Thanks for the single video link. Love the newest version. I simply can't work out the marketing. Something has gone wrong. Late video, sporadic promotion and not singing such a great track on the latest tour. Very odd. I suspect some sort of fall out about the choice of single.

Rorywan said:

Actually there is a Demo Version for "Mother Nature Goes to Heaven" which is totally stripped down to the basics of instruments. And yes the Foot of the mountain mix, i left out the instrumental of Nothing.

SquirrelMeat said:

you know i think it might be something like that. In an interview with Mags and Morten they seemed a bit "put off" by having to wait for this Video to be edited and put out way behind the single release. There is something odd to because the single mix is totally different from the album version, but then the video is totally different from both and not on anything? But i dont really see the issues within the band, they have been doing alot of things together and seem to be more friendly now, probably because they know that the end is announced. And against what most thought even me, this had nothing to do with Paul, Paul said in the interview that "he would carry on because he has the music" i think as a whole they saw this as a good place to close the book.

And yes there has been some very strange promotion from Universal on this album, they held the cd back at first, only released it in Germany, which led to massive LEAKS almost a month before its release. I bought the physical cd in July some time, as a UK import, i had the leak a month earlier.

lastdecember said:

yeah, i had it too. the video delay is indeed very strange, pity because it is great, just right for uk market. mags and morten did most of the press without paul, so it looked like there was a problem. maybe it was something completely different?, perhaps they realized they could make some serious cash for a change on the back of this great album and a goodbye tour?. guess we won't know until, janurary 2011 when mags chats to the press!

R

i'm very perturbed that these single mixes are not available in the US, as I would love to hear them.

Has anyone found the video mix audio for sale anywhere? Or recommend software to rip it?

SquirrelMeat said:

I havent been able to find the Video Mix on anything anywhere yet, a-Ha has so much in recent years on different single releases alot of which are already pulled out of print, they have a version of "Stay on these roads" which is a fullband mix re-recording, that is only on vinyl. Im hoping a rarities disc will surface at some point, which is very likely since their label will try to keep releasing stuff long after they stop being a-ha.

NoVideo said:

worse than that, both singles are already out of print and very hard to find already. There is a version of the album coming out December 4th overseas with a dvd, not sure yet what is on it.

lastdecember said:

Is that the version of Stay on these roads recorded for radio 2? On the Cosy Prison picture disc?

I do hope with have a double album of rare and unreleased. It was great to get the disc in the book, but I had most of those unreleased tracks already.

SquirrelMeat said:

They need to re-issue that book, i ended up with a norwegian version and the disc, but it would help to have the english version, which at times has popped up on ebay for a few hundred dollars. YES the stay on these roads is on Cosy Prisons Vinyl Picture Disc.

I think a-Ha are committed to putting out retrospectives, rare stuff, and they have already said that a dvd of the last tour and cd is a definite.

wow, never knew about the Stay on These Roads Track. Must try and find it. The new version of Nikyh hasn't appeared anywhere yet. Easy enough to rip from the you tube promo. Just use an internal audio recorder. Sound won't be full quality obviously, just as good as the original clip.

Now must go and try to find that SOTR version, thought I had everything they have released!





Just checked, I actually do have the Cosy Prisons Picture disc, never looked at the b-side! is that where the new version is? or is there a different german release? I know the rare demo version is on the german cd release?
[Edited 11/12/09 3:06am]

Rorywan said:

yeah its live at the Ken Bruce Sessions for the BBC, and its the way they do the song when they perform it, so pretty much anywhere there is a clip of them doing it on youtube in concert (which are tons) thats how it sounds. The rare german version if im correct has the 2 live versions of Cosy Prisons and Birthright, which is great to have since they rarely play "Birthright"

This interview was prior to the announcement of the end of the band and is just with Lead Singer MORTEN HARKET but the beauty of this interview is their opinions on media and how its not about content anymore, and almost calling journalists idiots.

a-ha will also re-release "Foot of the Mountain" in certain markets on December 4th with LTD edition DVD included plus bonus tracks on the cd.

Included extra on the cd will be two live versions of Foot of the mountain, and Riding the Crest. On the dvd will be videos for all 3 singles, Foot of the mountain,Shadowside and Nothing Is keeping you here.

I only wished they would have added the new versions of the singles to the cd since the singles are already out of print, but this re-issue was not done with any involvement from the band, just as an afterthought.

lastdecember said:

yeah, they should have included them, Just to let you know the german cd singles (physical copies) of NIKYH and Foot & Shadowside are still available online. Amazon.de and ebay have quite a few cheap copies.


[Edited 11/15/09 1:26am]