Go to Brooklyn button for pictures!
It took me close to forever to get my website fixed so I could place the pictures (the paltry five of them) on the recent ABBA - the Music show in Brooklyn. (Notice I say "recent" so as to discourage you from counting the number of days it's been since we attended this lovely show.)First, a few words about the show. Bill Paganucci has already covered the list of songs, and how it compared with an other show the group gave earlier in the month. So I'll stick more to aura and atmosphere.
It was hot. Did I say it was hot? It sure was! It's been like that all summer here in the New York area, and, for that matter all over the Eastern U.S. Bill had made the decision to go to the venue by vehicle, but I chose the trusty old mass transit route. For me, it meant a New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station in New York City, followed by a short walk to Herald Square (if any of you have ever seen the James Cagney movie "Yankee Doodle Dandy," it's the same square as in the song, "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy").
Before the walk, though, I had arrange to meet Laura in front of a Houlihan's bar in the train station. We went together and caught a subway to what amounted to Coney Island, perhaps the original seatown site in North America. A short walk from there put us in an outdooor theater in a park where the Brooklyn Borough President was chattering away about which groups and singers this venue was "ready for," meaning they had slid enough in popularity for this location to be able to afford them. "Oh, Simon and Garfunkel, no not yet, give them a few more years," he said. "Madonna! Oh, you've got to be kidding!" So the idea was that, as the acts become more and more has-beeny (is that a word?), they were ready for the likes of Brooklyn.
Did I say it was hot? Well, my late mom had left me a tiny portable electric fan (battery operated), so I whipped it out and used it to cool off myself and the the rest of us. Vinny seemed to enjoy the small breeze, as did Bill. Bill, by the way, had gotten there hours early to save us seats. The seats were strangely set up. Right in front of the stage were a few thousands chairs which could be used for $5 apiece. That's not much money. But if you sat askew, that is, to the right or left of the stage, you could bring your own chair or blanket and sit for free. There were far more freebie sitters than chair-payers present, but we all took the luxurious $5 route and were only about 15 rows from the stage.
There was Vinny, Bill, Laura, Lars-Erik, Mitali and George besides myself. A respectable showing for a weeknight in Brooklyn. I had come by train because the venue website said there was no parking, which was true. But Bill said he had found a parking space not too far away.
The show itself was, in my humble, about the bestest ABBA tribute show I've seen. There were two musicians from the original ABBA band present, one on sax, the other on electric guitar, who made the act sound quite authentic. The opening sax on I Do (5x) was incredibly clear and accurate. What I like most about this act (Actually called Waterloo in Europe) is that it does not try to "improve" on ABBA songs, but just tries to sound as close to the original as possible. No fake accents. No schmaltz. No schtick. It was a lot of fun, and well worth the heat, the trains, and the walking.
What was equally amazing to me was the crowd. If you've never been to the United States, you may not realize how oblivious Americans have been to ABBA. But something has changed, and I'm not sure it's for the best.
It seemed that this hardened, imperious Brooklyn crowd was genuinely appreciative of the music, applauded and screamed at all the right places, even anticipated some of the lyrics. Was this because of the popularity of the musical Mamma Mia? Or had the musical stoked interest in the original group, or both? Whatever the basis, this crowd seemed seriously into the music. One theory was the influx of Russians into Brooklyn. There have been so many immigrants from the former Soviet Union into Brooklyn, it would stand to reason that the newcomers would have brought their love of ABBA with them to the United States.
It was great group of friends to be with and to share this show. George and Mitali are a couple now. Bill and Vinny are important mainstays of our group. Lars is a delightful person who gives off sparks of sincerity. Laura is a fan, not only of ABBA, but of the idea of being a fan and joining in with like-minded fans. A great group! Perhaps if we had started to promote the concert within our ABBA-Day listserv earlier and pushed harder, we might have gotten some more to attend. But it was enough to have a wonderful evening.
After the show, Bill offered me a ride home, so he, Vinny and I started walking to his car. Vinny was on his way to a subway stop near where Bill had parked. Well, the publicity was right. There is no parking. To park, one must find a spot in the next county. We must have walked 40 minutes, maybe longer, with stops for a bottle of cold water for me, or coffee, which Bill craved. Finally, we reached Bill's SUV, near a police station somewhere on the other side of Brooklyn, or maybe it was in Connecticut, or so it seemed. Bill was great company, and we zipped across the Outerbridge Crossing into Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and then Edison, where I live. He was wonderful to give me this ride home. Thanks, Bill.
The pictures are at:http://www.nothingspecial.org
Just click on "Brooklyn" to get in. I still have the Roosendaal pictures up there, which I must take down someday. "Brooklyn" is the first button.
I repeat my offer to any ABBAMAILers from North America. If you want to be on ABBA-Day, our Yahoogroups list, just email me, and I'll put you on. ABBA-Day is for ABBAMAILers who want to use the list to set up get-togethers, trips to concerts, etc. like this one and don't want to send umpteen emails arranging it on ABBAMAIL. Bill thinks we should put more of our arrangements on ABBAMAIL to stoke the fires, and he probably is right. But ABBA-Day does work for us, and it's there when we need it.Ron
