Just getting warmed up

It didn’t seem that a-ha fans in New York could possibly get more excited about the concerts at Nokia Theatre than they were on Thursday night. However it turned out that Thursday night was just a warm up for the concert series, and each night the energy and excitement kept building.

Fans got in line earlier each day, wanting to claim the coveted front places in the general admission theatre; people spent hours talking to one another and making new friends; and with each show the audience responded to the music with more clapping and singing than before.

On Friday evening, when the queue outside the theatre stretched around three sides of the city block, we spoke with fans, listened to their stories and took some pictures. 

One married couple met many years ago after getting in touch via the international mailing list; two families met for the first time that night and all their children got along well, passing the time waiting for the concert by getting to know each other and talking about the music; Brazilian fans proudly showed their flags and a custom shirt with Morten’s picture on it; fans on the US street team passed out flyers advertising a fan party after the show. For many fans being in line is more than just waiting for the doors to open, it’s a social warm up for the concert, and by the time the doors opened everyone was definitely ready for a-ha!

(The full set of fan pictures can be found here.)

Even though there were no set list changes for the three concerts in New York, there were clear differences in the performances. Perhaps the most obvious difference was the fact that each night the band interacted with the audience more; they asked for more from the fans, and they were not disappointed!  

Magne wants to hear the fans sing

During ‘The Sun Always Shines on TV’, Paul got the crowd clapping above their heads, creating a frenetic, bouncing energy from the crowd with one simple gesture. In the middle of ‘Take on Me’, Morten went to the far sides of the stage and sang to the audience in the balconies, and was immediately rewarded with a sea of waving arms and smiling faces. And Magne, ever the more talkative member of the band, told the crowd that they were really making it easy for the band to have a good time.  This statement was met with thunderous applause!

The more the band asked from the audience, the more they received, and the fans were glad to show their enthusiasm. By Saturday night, it’s safe to say the crowd and the band were thoroughly warmed up and ready for the best show yet!

A sea of waving hands as the band takes their last bow in New York City

Tonight the band played in Toronto, and while we wait for updates from the road here are some more photos from New York to enjoy:

May 6 – Part 1 | May 6 – Part 2 | May 8