A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
Everyone I know who has seen this says it’s amazing, even men who had been dragged by female partners and were quite cynical of the whole concept. The general concept is a concert by holograms of the much loved band from Sweden who leapt to fame back in 1974 through the popular Eurovision song contest. The arena has been purposely built for this concert, the show is now into its third year, and still selling out as more and more people are persuaded to give it a try.
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There are signs on entry forbidding photography and recording of any kind, and an announcement repeats this saying it is so the show is not spoiled for future attendees. I must admit I am glad not to have seen any spoilers beforehand. I also enjoyed “being in the moment” and just taking in the full experience. If you would rather not have any spoilers of the show, please stop reading now and go book your own tickets. Although it is not a traditional concert, the resulting experience is also not within the realms of reality so why not give in, let go of any cynicism you may have, and just enjoy a fantastic night of top class music and entertainment.
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The venue is well organised with bars, food stalls, merchandise shops and toilets all easily accessible. Even the outer area has funky lighting across the roof to get you in the mood! The merchandise is not cheap but I absolutely love my green velour jumper saying Dancing Queen in sparkles on the front, and every time I wear it I will think of Frida in her full length outfit – although hers has her own name across her chest.
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The arena itself is arranged with a dance floor in front of the big screens, then some raised seating. We were in the front row of the main section of seating at the back and this suited my family fine. We could see over everyone’s heads and could “people watch” as the audience grew. Some people had full ABBA dressing up outfits, some were in 70s or disco garb, and some had gone for sparkles or dressed up for a night out. We were in London for my son’s 16th birthday and had been sightseeing all day so were in normal clothes. Nothing felt out of place, there was such a mixture, but it was fun to see those who had made an effort to “dress appropriately”.
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The big screens at the front had a forest scene before the show, it was snowing gently and occasionally lights shone through. There were forest noises playing with bird song, so it was quite a relaxing, enjoyable environment as we waited for the show to start.
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Even if you have kept reading this far I would not like to spoil the show for you so suffice to say that ABBA performed a range of their much loved hits and some of their lesser known numbers. There was a live band on our side of the stage with 7 musicians and 3 backing singers, known as the Hero Band, and their part of the stage rose and sank depending on the song and their level of participation. There was one song when they got to take over the whole stage and show of their own talents which was great, playing with some avatars must be a bit of a strange feeling. Sometimes it was “just” the four members of ABBA on the stage singing and dancing. They did move around just as if they were really there. The piano and guitar Björn and Benny play were also holographic so appeared with them as needed.
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The light show and camera projections are just amazing. Unlike your average concert where the lights are there to highlight the band, in the ABBA Arena the lights play over the entire room and include the audience in the visionary experience. There are round mirrors suspended from the ceiling which are used to spread the lights around, later on beams come down with coloured balls that pulsate in time with the song playing. For one song the entire width of the backdrop was done like the Aurora Borealis and it was just breath taking. Often your eyes are pulled away from the stage as you take in the whole arena, I did wonder if those on the dance floor maybe missed out on some of this, although obviously they were having the time of their life being the dancing queens (and kings)! In one song there were red spotlights around the arena, some dancers embraced the spotlight whilst others shied away. There was one just in front of us on the floor and there was temptation to go dance in it, but I knew the teenager in my party would be mortified, so I behaved!
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ABBA themselves looked amazing, as with a normal concert they were there on the stage and sometimes they were projected on big screens at the back or sides as well, or even sometimes in front of the stage. My husband commented that the screens were not a moment behind the stage people as would normally happen in real life. Obviously everything was pre recorded and so projected in unison for this show. Two songs featured animated anime graphics which were almost like the costume change time in a concert, although obviously this is not something digital representations need to worry about!
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Some songs had extra spectacular visuals, there was one done in Tron like, sci-fi outfits and the rays came out into the audience, pulling us into the performance. Frida was the lead singer for this one and sometimes it was just the screen version of her, projected large and in front of the stage.
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Each of the members of ABBA had recorded a little speech, Björn said he would never have imagined in the height of their fame that they would come back 40 years later in such a way. They all expressed gratitude to their fans for all their support through the decades.
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It really is an amazing legacy for four mere humans to give the world. There were various languages being spoken throughout the arena before the show started, but I think all of us were singing the full meaning of the words during Thank You For The Music. I know I shed a grateful tear as the show ended, just trying to work out how to persuade my husband we need to buy more tickets for a return visit…
Further information: https://abbavoyage.com/
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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#ABBA #Voyage #Retro #Music #TShirt #ads
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