Mania - The ABBA Tribute

I had the 45 of "Take a Chance on Me" when I was a kid.  "I'm a Marionette" was the B-side; that one creeped me out so much I wanted to wipe the grooves right off of the record.  These days, I think that tune is kinda cool, but I never was a huge ABBA fan, and when Super Trouper was automatically sent as my Columbia Music House selection of the month a few years later it was sent right back.  But then and now resistance is futile.  Undeniably fun music.  The Swedish unit has remained popular for fifty odd years.  Their music was showcased in the films MURIEL'S WEDDING and, of course, MAMMA MIA.  Last month we caught a show from Mania, a tribute band.

They did the hits: "Knowing Me, Knowing You".  "The Winner Takes it All". "Voulez Vous". "Chiquitita".  "Waterloo".  A local children's choral group joined the cover group for a few songs, including "Fernando".  Very nice.  As a side note, I knew a guy with that name in high school.  I can still see his facial expressions when someone sang it to him. 

The energy level only dipped occasionally.  The good spirits never did.  The back up band was cracking.  

There was an encore.  What else but "Dancing Queen"?  Then and through much of the show the audience was on its feet, in no small part due to Alison and Hana's (as Agnetha and Frida) prompting.  Even some of the elderly patrons made their way up.  An Hispanic guy a row over from us was very enthusiastic.  Or maybe just hammered?  The crowd at the Kravis Center seemed to know every word of every tune.  They were also called upon to raise their cellphones with flashlights on.  Always an arresting sight, if not quite as stirring as back in the day, when we hoisted our Bic lighters.

P.S. - I'm ashamed to admit that I only just made the connection that Frida Lynstad, who I knew from MTV and her hit "I Know There's Something Going On" was the Frida from ABBA.