Sandra Selby and Christine Shelton of Adbacadabra performs with Orchestra Kentucky at Van Meter Hall 11/4/2011.

Orchestra Kentucky teamed up with an ultimate Abba tribute band and the result was a great night of entertainment. The tribute band called Adbacadabra goes way beyond your typical tribute band by getting all the details right. It’s not just the sound of Abba but the look, personality, and spirit of the long-defunct Swedish pop group with the almost cult-like following. The voices are spectacular, the arrangements close to the originals in most cases while allowing the talents of these musicians to shine through, and the costumes reminiscent of Abba’s flashy style. It was the 70s after all!

Abba fans were treated to all the hits. There’s way too many to mention them all, as Abba fans know, but we were treated to the likes of “Waterloo”, “Fernando”, “Take a Chance on Me”, “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (my personal favorite), “Winner Takes It All” (my second favorite), and the final encore performance of “Dancing Queen”. We also got some tidbits of humor thrown in here and there as the musicians got into character and interacted as one might think the originals would if they were still performing together. As Benny and Bjorn were both married to and later divorced from singing stars Agnetha and Frida in the real Abba, the history makes for some lively and humorous verbal jabbing between the characters. And I’m thinking, just like the similar chemistry between the members of Fleetwood Mac was credited with the creation of some great music, the same thing happened with Abba.

Benny is played by musical director Gary Raffanelli, who sings and plays piano, Fred Sampson plays Bjorn on guitar and vocals, and the glamorous front women, Agnetha and Frida, are played respectively by Sandra Selby and Christine Shelton, who are in fine voice and harmonize well. With lots of support behind them (both vocal and instrumental) their sound is fantastic. In this show the Orchestra seemed to have a little less prominence than in their typical Retro Series shows, but they were unmistakably there adding that special something to the overall experience. Maestro Jeff Reed could be seen behind the drummer (from my seat) for most of the show, if you looked for him. It was certainly Adbacadabra’s night to shine.

I did notice at times during the first set certain aspects of the sound seemed a bit distant, but as the show went on, and especially for the whole second set, everything seemed to be balanced out right. This is a big production with many musical parts, being played in a new location every night, so that’s what the sound guys do – adjust as they go. And Adbacadabra has their own sound man work with the local experts, who in our case is technician extraordinaire Jeff Smith. So the teamwork paid off well.

I’m not one of those cult-following fans of Abba, but I don’t think you have to be to enjoy this music. Abba was more than a musical group; they became a phenomena.  It’s not hard to see why. The music is distinctive, energetic, happy, and yes, even campy; all the things that bring a smile to your face and memories to mind when you hear it. And smiles were in abundance at this show.

You can get more info on Abdacadabra at www.adbacadabra.com. And please visit www.orchestrakentucky.com for info on all their upcoming shows. There’s a full season of wonderful performances just waiting for you to experience. Go see one soon.

Adbacadabra with Orchestra Kentucky performed at Van Meter Hall, 11/4/2011.

About the author: Pennman boughthis first 45 at age nine and has been hooked on rock ever since. Hehas spent much of his disposable income on music, especially liveperformances. He writes reviews of the shows he sees and keeps akeen lookout for upcoming shows in or near Bowling Green. He has aBA in Communications, specializing in journalism, and has dabbledin music himself, both as a player and instructor. Find more ofPennman’s work at www.associatedcontent.com/user/165511/pennman.htmlor visit him at www.myspace.com/pennman_bgor www.facebook.com/pennman