ARRIVAL IN SYDNEY - Grant's Review

ARRIVAL - Simply Sensational

Sensational. That’s the only word I can think of to describe the two ARRIVAL shows held in Sydney over the weekend. I am feeling quite lost for words and out of it today. A bit like feeling jet lagged.

ARRIVAL are ABBA fans that much is obvious. The attention to detail, the respect, the song choices, the costumes everything is just so right and spot on.

And no f##king cat dresses!!!!! As much as I loved the cat dresses way back when ABBA wore them, they have now become the symbol of cheap, tacky ABBA send-ups. ARRIVAL's 1977 tour costumes were just perfect and looked so real.

The mini musical? I am lost for words. The narrator, the wigs, the choreography all perfect. Even at the best of times I really can’t get into “Thank You For The Music” but Anna (Agnetha) put in such an amazing vocal performance, I really sat up and took notice a more German cabaret type of vocal. Vicky’s (Frida) emotional rendition of “I Wonder” gave me goose bumps and a weird feeling inside. You often forget what an amazing song “I Wonder” is because the studio version is so flat and devoid of emotion. And “Marionette” really rocked. One of my favourite ABBA songs. :-)

Singing in Swedish was a great touch. “Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal)” never sounded better. “Fernando” took on a new dimension hearing the first verse and chorus sung in Swedish as Frida's original version had been. And an overall comment it was so refreshing to hear *real* Swedish accents.

The song choices were just perfect. Enough of the hits to keep the general punters happy but enough of those magical gems that proved ABBA were not just a singles band. “That’s Me”, “When I Kissed The Teacher”, “As Good As New”, “Hole In Your Soul” and “Bang-A-Boomerang” all sounded wonderful live. "So Long" was great and Anna and Vicky really got the dance routine down pat.

It was disappointing about “One Man, One Woman” being dropped but some of us were lucky enough to hear it performed during one the Sunday sound check. I love that song anyway but to hear it live was mind-blowing. Vicky really put a lot of emotion into it.

It was fun to sit in during the sound checks. Hearing snatches of songs and all the talking in Swedish was very reminiscent of "ABBA Undeleted". We even heard a bit of "Eagle" in the first sound check even though that was never meant to be part of the Sydney shows.

All of the members of ARRIVAL and their entourage were just lovely. Down to earth, friendly and genuine. It was great to meet them and chat with them like they were old friends. And they seemed to genuinely appreciate having real ABBA fans there.

ARRIVAL may be back in Australia, hopefully with a bit more notice next time. Any ABBA fan in Sydney who didn't take the chance to experience this amazing group on Saturday/Sunday is crazy.

And to top off the weekend, it was great to catch up with so many old friends and just having a really good (but sooo tiring) time. I still can't believe I stayed up so late on Saturday night! :-)

Wow!

Grant Whittingham, Sydney, Australia