The first tribute show to play the amphitheater eventually got plenty of “Dancing Queens” on their feet and ready to “Take a Chance” on cheering this impersonation of the Swedish superstar band.
Dancing Queens: ABBA The Concert had the nostalgic hit machine whirring at Meijer Gardens. (Photo/Katy Batdorff)
Early in its sold-out, two-hour-plus show Wednesday night at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of the be-wigged female vocalists of ABBA the Concert: A Tribute to ABBA playfully asked the crowd which songs it wanted to hear, promising, “We’ll play that.”
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History Lesson: The tribute band also tossed in tidbits about ABBA. (Photo/Katy Batdorff)
And indeed, the four leads (representing the original two married couples of ABBA) and six backing musicians delivered on every single hit — and then some — created by the Swedish pop powerhouse during its decade-long heyday in the ’70s/early 80s.
From the karaoke-ready ballads “The Winner Takes it All” and “I Have a Dream,” to the karaoke-ready jams of “Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!” and “Waterloo” (in Swedish, nonetheless), the polished tribute act covered all of the expected ground.
Did you say costume change? Why, yes, there were at least four of those, with the leading ladies ably rocking everything from gladiator-disco-chic tunics to groovy “Voulez-Vous” ponchos to purple-striped jumpsuits, and even feline-bedazzled frocks that played well under the spinning disco ball.
Though audience members started off oddly reserved and quite seated for what conceivably is a party act, folks warmed up by the seventh song of the 20-plus-song show, jumping to their feet for “Take a Chance on Me” and showing enthusiasm throughout the evening for gems like “Fernando,” “S.O.S” and, of course, “Dancing Queen.”
PHOTO GALLERY: ABBA the Concert at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Katy Batdorff
