The Final Concert

[przed]

Well, I'm back from...


and seeing a-ha one last time. This time at Wembley Arena, with a sold out crowd of fellow fans.

Here's what a sold-out Wembley show looks like:

It was kinda nice to be in the company of a whole lot of people who get the a-ha love, and who are as sad to see it all end as me.

Here's the poster I saw as I approached the arena:


Which was about the best shot I could get of the band the whole evening. I had pretty good seats, for an arena gig. I was dead centre, but 20 rows back, which isn't fab if you're short. Which I am. But it was still cool to be there. The energy was bigger than it would have been on the sides, where there was far less dancing and screaming going on. (Though I have to say, there was less of both than there was at either the New York or Toronto shows. Not having had the chance to see the band in 25 years will do that. Whereas I get the impression that even in the face of their final concert in Britain, the London crowd sort of takes them for granted.

Anyway, here's the one sort of decent shot I got during the whole concert, courtesy of the nice, tall bloke standing behind me who took pity one my futile attempts to snap a picture during the opening song. (The opener was, for the record, The Sun Always Shines on TV, always one of my favourites.)


And here's the freaky animated logo that filled the screens as they left the stage, having performed Take on Me for the last time in England:


I'm so glad I went over. Glad I finally saw them at Wembley. Glad I heard them do their final single, Butterfly, Butterfly. And I'm very sad that the a-ha ride is over at last.



If the jetlag doesn't take me down tomorrow night, I hope I'll get up reviews of the theatre I saw. Including Martin Shaw in The Country Girl. Which was...interesting.

Comments

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Looks wonderful! How fun. I didn't know you were short! *pokes P and runs off giggling* I can't wait to read the "interesting" review of MS. Is this the first time you've seen him in person? Take care and glad you're back safe and sound.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I didn't know you were short!

Hah hah. You tall(-ish) people can mock. ;-)

I may get the MS review up this afternoon. (Ros and I are both home sick. Boo.) I saw him a few years back doing A Man for All Seasons, and that was a brilliant production all round. This time, it was a rather more mixed bag, though he's still a lovely actor.

[ancastar.livejournal.com]

Welcome back! I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. I'll be interested to know your thoughts about The Country Girl.

When you have a minute. ;-)

[przed.livejournal.com]

It was a fantastic trip. FJB is a wonderful travel companion, and we did some fab things, a-ha not least among them of course.

Stay tuned for the MS review...

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

Really glad you got to see them for this last time and it sounds like you had a great time.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I went. It was a really lovely trip, capped off by a wonderful concert.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I think it's great that you got to be there for their last performance and it would be lovely to hear more about your trip when you have the times.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I may just be putting up more on the trip this afternoon. Ros and I are both home sick (with an ear infection and migraine respectively) and the spike in my eye is making me more and more inclined to just take the whole day as a sick day rather than working half of it like I intended.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I'm really sorry to hear about your migraine and Ros' ear infection and hope you both make a swift recovery. A sick day does sounds like an awfully good idea though.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Wow - looks great! The best concert I ever went to was at Wembley Arena. It was Sting, just after he'd split from the Police. personally, I much prefer it as venue to the Stadium, which basically turns into crush-city really quickly.

Glad to hear you're back safe and sound. And I'm curious now to read your review of The Country Girl.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I saw that tour with Sting. And it was one of the best shows I've seen him do.

The thought of a Wembley Stadium show quite terrifies me, actually. These days I'm much more into intimate, soft-seat venues. The arena was quite large enough, though it was very cool to be in the same space as so many a-ha fans.

The Country Girl review, such as it will be, should be forthcoming. I'm stuck home with a migraine, and the will to do actual work is fading more with each passing second.

[togsos.livejournal.com]

OooooO flashback, I went to see them when i was 13 with friends!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Oooo, you're a young 'un. *g* I was 20 when they put out their first album. (I wish I'd seen them back in the day too, but they've only played Toronto the once before this year, and I was a skint uni student with not a lot of time for concerts at the time.)

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

And this is my main complaint about being short! *g* Great seats, but... It was very kind of the tall bloke to help you out, and I'm glad the vibe was so good where you were. In fact, I'm glad you were able to go and participate in this! Yay.

Rest, and then come back and tell us more! *g*

[przed.livejournal.com]

If I'd had my choice of seats, I'd have gone more to the side so I could have actually seen more, but it's always a trade off. You get more energy on the floor, but a better view on the side. (I got the tickets from the fan club, and you basically just told them how many you wanted and they assigned the seats.)

But all in all, it was a fabulous thing to do. (If only I could have afforded the final Oslo show as well...)

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had such a good time m'dear!

[przed.livejournal.com]

Me too! I just wish I could have gone over for a bit longer, and taken the family with.

[sooguy.livejournal.com]

Glad you had great trip. Concert pictures looks great.