Paying tribute to the great music of ABBA

The hall was already buzzing with animated chatter when my blog contest winner- Angela Lau and her friend, my hubby and I walked in at 8.20pm.

The stage was lit with lasers and some guests were busy taking photos near the stage. At 8.45pm, the lights dimmed and the sound of a landing helicopter filled the hall.

Arrival from Sweden decked in ABBA 1960's outfits warmed up the crowd with the opening number "That's Me" before getting us tapping our feet with "Knowing Me Knowing You".

The group comprised of founder Vicky Zetterberg (also known as Victoria Norback), Madelene Johansson, Jonas Karlsson and Rolf Ivraeus. But after some 22 years performing as Abba lookalikes, it somehow doesn’t seem outlandish to identify them as their idols – Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson – respectively.

The LED screen and stage lights filled the hall with psychedelic colours creating a dancing ambiance that was hard to resist. Soon they were belting out "SOS" followed by "Fernando" which was first sung in Swedish before switching to English. Vicky and Rolf (on keyboard) kept the crowd engaged by sharing fun facts about ABBA and their songs.

What made their show in Kuala Lumpur (they previously performed in Genting Highlands) extra special was the presence of bass guitarist Mike Watson, who had played with the original band for 10 years, as well as two other backup musicians and two backup singers.

The KLCC Plenary Hall was soon ringing to the familiar tunes of  Money Money Money, Honey Honey, 1974's Waterloo, and Mamma Mia (the sequel to the movie is set to be released in July 2018).

After the intermission at 9.45pm, the band then sang "Voulez Vous", "Gimme Gimme", "Super Duper", "The Name of the Game" and two solo acts by the guitarist and keyboardist followed by the emotional number "The Winner Takes them All" and upbeat "Chiquitita".

The audience couldn't get enough of them and no one could tie them to their seats so they made their way to the front of the stage, dancing the rest of the night away with encore numbers "Thank You for the Music" and "Dancing Queen".

The Arrival from Sweden shows in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 2 and 3 were organised by AC Music Entertainment.