Julie and I had a very pleasant afternoon in Greenwich with old work colleagues Roger and Brenda Farley, which included lunch at the Trafalgar Arms overlooking the River Thames. Followed by an evening at the Abba Arena in Stratford for the virtual Voyage concert by the famous foursome.
The event is an intriguing affair, with a hugely impressive light show and is clearly a landmark production enabling a legendary act to be appreciated in a live context. The four ‘avatars’, apparently based on the band as if it was 1982, are supported by a live guitar-led rock band and line-up of vocalists, who do a sterling job accompanying the stars on screen.
Whilst the massive screens and quality sound system ensure the music comes across very effectively, the images occasionally don’t make up for the lack of a totally live act. It was noticeable when the band took over the stage for ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A man after midnight), the interaction between the singers and the audience demonstrated the energy and intensity that was missing the rest of the time.
The setlist was a mixed bag too, with solo elements for each member of Abba proving of less interest, plus several of their big hits were inexplicably not featured. Notably: Money, money, money; Super trooper; Take a chance on me; The name of the game; and I have a dream. However, a couple of what might be considered their ‘lesser’ numbers proved hugely popular with the crowd once into singalong mode, especially Chiquitita. Plus the expected punter pleasers, Waterloo, Dancing Queen and the superb closer, The winner takes it all, were all present and correct. An additional welcome touch was the ‘appearance’ at the very end of Abba as they are now.
I must add that one lengthy part was the inclusion mid-set of a fantasy cartoon sequence accompanying the excellent standout album track, Eagle. This didn’t work at all and appeared to bear no relevance to Abba or the rest of the show. Surely there would have been historic footage of the band, which would have been significantly more appropriate?
Still there is clearly an audience for this type of concert and I imagine the takings for the show, with its pop-up mobile arena (very Swedish), will soon exceed the quoted £140m budget the entire production cost. Understandable with tickets at £75 and the likelihood of the show touring the world.
Some will love it, and I am glad to have seen it for myself, but once will be enough for me. I was reminded during the show of how one hundred years earlier silent movies were regularly accompanied by a live orchestra. And the incredible fuss that followed the introduction of ‘talkies’ and the removal of the live musicians. Turns out that there is a demand for that format all over again, all these years later!
