Bjorn Again

By Mike White

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those hipsters who latched onto the melodic sounds of ABBA after PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT came out. Nor, did I buy all their albums when MURIEL'S WEDDING was crapped out of the outback on the heels of the first movie. No, I've been listening to ABBA for years. They were always a staple on my radio show. What better to lighten the mood and piss off the half-dozen cooler-than-thou listeners that tuned into my pointless show by mistake than a good dose of "Waterloo"? Nothing other than a stirring rendition of "Fernando," that's what.

So when I saw the flier in the back seat of Carol's car I got flushed with excitement with the prospect of seeing the group I first read about in the liner notes to "Incesticide" and who were mentioned in AND GOD SPOKE...THE MAKING OF - the world-renowned ABBA cover group, Bjorn Again!

It was Friday night at Industry in "New" Pontiac. Forget that this is actually the same city where you are likely to get your wallet stolen and throat slit, no, that's old Pontiac. This is "New" Pontiac where you've got about a two-block area where you feel relatively safe walking around, thinking that muggers will probably pick on the trendy little rich kids on their way to X-fest at the Phoenix Amphitheater or some well-dressed dudes and dudettes on their way to ho-down at Diamonds and Spurs while you sneak past them in your '70's garb to the safety of Industry.

It was strange to find Bjorn Again playing Industry on a Friday night since we all know that the official '70's themed night is Saturday (Night Fever...get it?). But no one seemed to mind. The audience was a very eclectic mix: hipsters and old couples (one person usually dragging the other) mingled and boogied down on the three tiers, keeping an eye on the stage and waiting for the big moment to arrive.

The lights dimmed and came back up, alerting everyone to the event. Some sort of music started (I always feel so cool when I recognize the bands's "we're coming on stage music" - don't you?) and out came two very non-Abba looking guys who took their place behind the drums and bass. They had the hair, but their outfits were certainly without panache.

Oh... but then... out came a guy who was a dead ringer for Benny Andersson! Even more than pure physical similarity, I knew it was Benny because it was written in big letters across the back of his studded satin outfit. Benny slung his saxophone around his neck and readied himself at his keyboard while Bjorn burst triumphantly from backstage, similarly adorned except for the guitar around his neck and "Bjorn" across his back.

Next came the moment that I knew I was certainly waiting for.. the appearance of the two divas, the harmonious auburn and blonde-haired angels of song, Frida and Agnetha!!!

Everyday when I used to work at Blockbuster (it's fading into a dim memory now) I would watch one of two Abba video tapes. Both were collections of their videos but each had a few songs that the other didn't. I preferred ABBA GOLD since it had "Waterloo" as the final, fantastic song. It was funny, though, because no matter how good Frida (who's real name is Anni- Frid, thus the other "A" in ABBA) looked, Agnetha looked even more beautiful (however, Agnetha often fell into the thinking that with enough blue eye shadow, anyone's eye appear blue). And this legacy lived on in Bjorn again.

Don't get me wrong, Frida was looking "foine" in her skin tight satin but Agnetha had to have upper hand with an even more ornate and revealing get-up. They might have been competing for the best looking woman but in the field of pure singing talent, they were tied, singing talent, they were tied, with no winner in sight.

It was such a treat hearing the songs of Abba live and done so well. I never realized how many songs had electric guitar until I heard Bjorn just jamming away, causing ear- drums to bleed throughout the hall. Sure, it was kind of kitschy but they played it straight (for the most part) which made it even better. The only time they broke from their faithful renditions was while Agnetha and Frida went back stage to change out-fits.

"I'm so sick of playing this music, Benny," said Bjorn. Benny tried to calm his band mate (and future "Chess" co- writer) to no avail. Before we knew it, Bjorn was fully into the first four measures of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Benny, the bass player, and the drummer, had no choice but join in. Their instrumental version of the Nirvana hit rocked the house. When they were done Bjorn still hadn't gotten his heavier, rock & roll ambitions worked out of him so he carried on into Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." Do you kno how hilarious it was seeing these two finely dressed throwbacks doing these anachronistic cover songs?

After their outburst, Frida and Agentha returned, dressed even better than before, and they all went back into the rich ABBA repertoire. They remained completely faithful to the original music, once again, until they did the songs "S.O.S." and "Ring, Ring, Ring." The first they ended with part of The Police's "Message in a Bottle," the "sending out an S.O.S." finale. And for the second they worked out a little skit involving big telephones.

Did I mention the choreography? Frida and Agentha were like a well oiled dancing machine, executing all of their elaborate dance moves perfectly and never missing a beat. From the butt-shaking "Voulez Vous" to the exquisite arm ballet of "Chiquita." It was quite a sight.

After all was said and done, they covered just about every hit Abba ever produced (which number quite a bit), their set lasting over two hours - certainly a change from the last few shows I saw where the encores began at forty- five minutes into set. Bjorn Again but on a solid and completely enjoyable set. And, though I understand that not every reader might not fancy Abba as much as I do, I think you'd have to be comatose not to enjoy this show. I can't wait until they return from their arctic origins to bless us with their presence again. Thank you, Bjorn Again, thank you for the music.