Bjorn Again in Singapore: As good as it gets to the original ABBA (concert review)

The crowd on Friday evening was rather lively and waiting for the concert to begin.  I have not attended a tribute band concert before and I had my reservations.  Would they just be good imitators of the original band and not much more?  

Bjorn Again had its origin in Melbourne, Australia, created by Rod Stephen in 1988 (see http://www.bjornagain.com/about.htm) as a parody of ABBA.  It was the first trip to Singapore. 

From the time they hit the first note, it was pure fun and at times silliness from these performers, who adopted stage names similar to the 4 original members. We were treated to the favourite hits such as S.O,S, Voulez-Vous, Ring Ring, Mamma Mia and many more.  The enthusiastic crowd responded with every instruction from the band, singing along on certain verses or dancing along.  While the performers sounded close to the original members, they still managed to have their own personalities, while speaking with a fake Swedish accent.

The concert did not feature all ABBA songs.  We had a Madonna song Hung Up, which of course sampled Gimme Gimme Gimme! The 2 gentlemen also did a guitar riff of Smoke on the Water and sang Bon Jovi;s Living on a Prayer.  While these occasions were to give the ladies a break from singing duties, it did not gel with the tribute concept.  Having said that, this is just a small comment.

All in all, it was a fun concert and performed with zest from the cast.  And for certain moments, I felt that I was attending an original ABBA concert.  Well, this is as good as we can get for the real thing.