Four Stars
BACK in 2011 A-ha popped into the Clyde Auditorium for their farewell tour, and yet here they were back in Glasgow, this time in the rather larger confines of the Hydro. Given that the venue’s curtains were lowered over the upper tiers the amount of people actually there to see them might not been much larger than their swansong, though.
Some things haven’t changed, either. There remains an almost nonchalant air about the group, here joined by four backing musicians, and the show was refreshingly free from the usual gimmicks that pad out arena gigs, save for encouraging audience participation. This let the group get on with a varied setlist, albeit one that backloaded the hits a little too much.
If it took until the encore to produce the heavy artillery, with The Sun Always Shines On T.V. and The Living Daylights sparking lusty sing-a-longs and Take On Me wrapping the night up, then the earlier material proved rich in quality. Morton Harket’s vocal has weathered the years extremely well, and their suave synth-pop held up too. Stay On These Roads let Harket’s voice take flight in gorgeous fashion and new track Cast In Steel had a swooning nature to it, while Hunting High And Low built to a lovely finale with the crowd as backing choir.
Harket remains an interesting centrepiece, given that early on his actions seemed limited to taking his sunglasses on and off. Keyboardist Magne Furuholmen instead handled the chat, jovially, yet arguably the biggest star was whoever handled their lights and videos, which stylishly suited the tone of the music throughout. It meant even weaker numbers, like We’re Looking For The Whales, possessed personality in this enjoyably smooth return.
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