Bjorn Again

QPAC 23.11.13

Sometime in the last decade, the term ‘tribute band’ became a dirty concept. Some so-so artists tarnished the intentions of others. The Bootleg Beatles passed through town recently and they’re ‘something else’. Last Saturday, the QPAC Concert Hall was packed to the rafters for Bjorn Again. Arguably, the best tribute band in the world: Bjorn Again take the concept to an entirely news level.

With a meaty rhythm section cranking out the backbeat the foursome at the front play Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida beautifully. Benny could be the real thing, Bjorn knows how to play the comedic touch [as well as the guitar] and the girls are pitch perfect.

The show starts well, and two songs in the magic happens when the seventies suits are revealed on the girls and the band chime in on ‘Honey Honey’. Splitting the show into two parts, the band dig deep on ABBA’s back catalogue delivering a mix of hit singles and album tracks.

There’s humour between the songs, and the hits keep coming: ‘SOS’, ‘Fernando’ and more. The first half gets the big thumbs up, but the second half takes the audience to a place that feels nothing short of transcendental. As the show nears an end ‘Benny’ informs us that ‘you will sing, you will dance and you will be happy’. In terms of highlights, there’s a bunch. How cool was ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’ morphing into Madonna’s ‘Hung Up’ for one? After showing off a few guitar riffs, Benny and Bjorn nailed a cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’, as well as ABBA’s ‘Does Your Mother Know’.

Further standouts included ‘Ring Ring’, ‘Money Money Money’ [replete with hats], ‘Mamma Mia’ [heavier than the record] and ‘Take A Chance On Me’. The beauty of Bjorn Again is that once you get past the show, it becomes all about the songs. By the time ‘Waterloo’ and ‘Dancing Queen’ appeared, the audience was transported to somewhere quite sublime. And that’s quite a trick.

Peta Kent