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Post by ladidah on May 30, 2022 14:24:50 GMT
Yes, I will do that too. Kind of delaying finding out I guess because she will be heartbroken
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Post by anthony40 on May 30, 2022 14:26:29 GMT
I'm looking at the website now and under Accessibility- If you have any specific needs, requirements or would like any further information, please contact us at access@abbavoyage.com.
Hope this helps
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Post by harry on May 30, 2022 14:27:28 GMT
My Mum has mild epilepsy, but I can't see any warnings on their site or info about disabilities and the show. Does anybody know? The FAQ on the official website says: Does the concert use flashing lights and images? The concert involves the use of extensive flashing lights, kinetic lighting, lasers and strobing light effects. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact access@abbavoyage.com Hope that helps, and fingers crossed it’s suitable for your mum. |
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Post by ladidah on May 30, 2022 14:32:41 GMT
Thanks all, didn't see that part at all! xx
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Post by Jon on May 30, 2022 15:36:01 GMT
Found ths on Twitter I love that #ABBA just hailed a black cab randomly in the street to get to the ABBA Arena VIP premiere. No fancy limo for them. #ABBAVoyage Surely one of the security or an entourage would have hailed it for them. Talk about the old taxi driver stories "You'll never guess who I had in the taxi just". I'd doubt they would use an Uber but surely an official car would have been laid on or an Addison Lee etc. I get that People Carriers can be higher to step into so Frida may have found taxis easier to get in an out of. Also Benny's jacket would have made him stand out more for a taxi driver to see. That Kimono will come in handy if Benny needs to send out a SOS.... I'll get me coat. |
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2022 17:07:44 GMT
SOS is one the greatest pop songs ever so fully agree
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Post by intoanewlife on May 30, 2022 23:21:53 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5
Abba - The Experience' - 0/5
Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5
Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong.
It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did.
The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection...
Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show.
Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?!
I don't get it...I just don't get it...
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Post by steve10086 on May 31, 2022 0:21:46 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5 Abba - The Experience' - 0/5 Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5 Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong. It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did. The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection... Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show. Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?! I don't get it...I just don't get it... “S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?!” 🙄 |
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Post by anthony40 on May 31, 2022 8:15:35 GMT
Well that was pretty incredible.
Truly, sensorary overload.
The lights, the sound, the colours- in thruth I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all and am still trying to process what I witnessed last night.
The ABBAtars look so real you almost want the reach out and touch them; the litte nuances in Benny and Agnetha's faces.
The live band were good as were the three female vocalist.
I was seated on a side slip but still had a perfect view.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and up and dancing.
Would I go back? Not straight away, maybe in a couple of weeks time, but most definately.
I think we started about 5-10 minutes late but were still done by 9.30pm, which is great for me as I had to get back to NW London, on a school night.
Possibly one of the best concerts I have ever been to!
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Post by alece10 on May 31, 2022 8:20:45 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5 Abba - The Experience' - 0/5 Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5 Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong. It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did. The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection... Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show. Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?! I don't get it...I just don't get it... It sounds more likely it just wasn't your thing rather than it wasn't very good. As I am due to see this i have been following quite closely peoples comments and reviews in the press, social media and on here and you are the first and only person who has given a negative reaction that i have read. Not saying you are wrong or your opinion is not valid but I think I will go by the majoritys comments and will be able to add my own at the weekend. |
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Post by theatreian on May 31, 2022 8:32:31 GMT
will be able to add my own at the weekend. You will love it I guarantee! |
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Post by harry on May 31, 2022 10:58:19 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5 Abba - The Experience' - 0/5 Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5 Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong. It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did. The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection... Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show. Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?! I don't get it...I just don't get it... I don’t really agree or at least certainly not to this extent but I do think there’s an interesting point. The show is so entertaining and overwhelming that it does perhaps mask a slight crisis of identity… As intoanewlife says, it could have just been a digital concert with life size ABBAtars onstage playing songs and a light show alongside it. Clearly when making the show they decided that’s not what they wanted to do, and I personally think that was the right decision. So it becomes a sort of digital musical audio visual extravaganza experience. Which is fab… but then there are strange things that feel like they hark back to an earlier draft where it was just going to be the ABBAtars onstage and the experience was meant to match a real live concert as closely as possible, such as the cartoons to cover big costume changes (which I think it’s fair to say most people seem to agree are the least exciting moments of the show) and which for the obvious reason that neither costumes nor costume wearers are real, don’t actually need to take the length of a song and cartoon to happen. For me, personally, if anything I think they could have pushed it further. Once we’ve seen the stage illusion broken once why not do more things that can only be done in this new digital medium. E.g. Why not have them change costumes magically mid song a la Elsa in Frozen? Maybe that’s cheesy but if we’re living in this hybrid digital reality for 90min I wonder if that could actually heighten the experience rather than spoil it? There’s a specific moment {Spoiler - click to view}as Lay All Your Love On Me is ending, where we’ve been watching them perform as oversized avatars, intercut and edited like a music video. The camera is suddenly way above their heads, we see lights begin to mark out a pattern around them on the floor, the camera zooms down, then round to a front view and as the song segues into the intro of Summer Night City, we suddenly realise we’re face on, and looking at them in 3D on the stage, the illusion created before our eyes. It was my favourite single moment of the entire night, the most audacious use of the digital tech, and the moment that proved to me that it doesn’t matter if you know how they do the trick of the trick is done this well. Anyway, none of this takes away from how much I loved it or is going to stop me booking to take my family at some point down the road, just musings a week or so later. |
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Post by partytentdown on May 31, 2022 11:06:02 GMT
I actually quite like the elements replicated from a real concert like the cartoons designed to hide a 'costume change' and the performance by the backing singers etc. You get all that if you go and see a real band perform in an arena. It's the same reason I like it when you can still see them moving about in the darkness between songs, it helps convince your brain that what you're seeing is real and makes the technical 'wow' moments like the Voulez Vous switch all the more gasp-inducing.
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Post by anthony40 on May 31, 2022 11:22:29 GMT
It's acyally a theme.
(Trust me, this isn't a spoiler) before the show starts there is a huge prohection of a forest scene, with snow continuously falling. If you watch closely, you'll see a figure running through the trees.
When the cartoon inmage you refer to comes on, its one and the same image, but more in focus.
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Post by intoanewlife on May 31, 2022 11:33:17 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5 Abba - The Experience' - 0/5 Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5 Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong. It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did. The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection... Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show. Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?! I don't get it...I just don't get it... It sounds more likely it just wasn't your thing rather than it wasn't very good. As I am due to see this i have been following quite closely peoples comments and reviews in the press, social media and on here and you are the first and only person who has given a negative reaction that i have read. Not saying you are wrong or your opinion is not valid but I think I will go by the majoritys comments and will be able to add my own at the weekend. Actually everyone has already said all the things I’ve said only they still gave it 5 stars. These things weren’t enough to ruin it for them whereas it took me out of the experience instead of dragging me into it further. I get why it’s structured the way it is to resemble a modern day concert and I knew those elements where coming, but I just didn’t realise they were going to be such a huge part of it. I just thought there was way too much of it used to the detriment of the show. I have a problem with screens overshadowing performers at most concerts, just a bug-bare of mine, so to see it used so heavily here annoyed me when for me the concert sections were far more impressive in every way. To me once the illusion was given away, it kind of ruined it for me. Now in saying all that, if those things don’t bother you you’ll love it as it is a phenomenal achievement. As I said the tech is brilliant and the sound and arena ARE amazing. I would say I was more disappointed than anything else as sensory overload doesn’t equal amazing for me. The fact that they were able to capture the human side of it all so well and then chose to continually overshadow it with spectacle really just rubbed me the wrong way. I am sure the next time I see it (Thursday) with lowered expectations and knowing what’s coming I will be able to just let go and enjoy it more. |
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Post by partytentdown on May 31, 2022 11:34:19 GMT
It sounds more likely it just wasn't your thing rather than it wasn't very good. As I am due to see this i have been following quite closely peoples comments and reviews in the press, social media and on here and you are the first and only person who has given a negative reaction that i have read. Not saying you are wrong or your opinion is not valid but I think I will go by the majoritys comments and will be able to add my own at the weekend. Actually everyone has already said all the things I’ve said only they still gave it 5 stars. These things weren’t enough to ruin it for them whereas it took me out of the experience instead of dragging me into it further. I get why it’s structured the way it is to resemble a modern day concert and I knew those elements where coming, but I just didn’t realise they were going to be such a huge part of it. I just thought there was way too much of it used to the detriment of the show. I have a problem with screens overshadowing performers at most concerts, just a bug-bare of mine, so to see it used so heavily here annoyed me when for me the concert sections were far more impressive in every way. To me once the illusion was given away, it kind of ruined it for me. Now in saying all that, if those things don’t bother you you’ll love it as it is a phenomenal achievement. As I said the tech is brilliant and the sound and arena ARE amazing. I would say I was more disappointed than anything else as sensory overload doesn’t equal amazing for me. The fact that they were able to capture the human side of it all so well and then chose to continually overshadow it with spectacle really just rubbed me the wrong way. I am sure the next time I see it (Thursday) with lowered expectations and knowing what’s coming I will be able to just let go and enjoy it more. Why on earth are you going back?! |
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Post by intoanewlife on May 31, 2022 11:41:58 GMT
Abba - 'The Concert' - 5/5 Abba - The Experience' - 0/5 Abba - The whole shebang - 2/5 Seriously...how TF did this all go so horribly wrong. It is almost unfathomable to me how this ended up the way it did. The tech is flawless...all you had to do was have the Abbatars on the stage singing the songs with some great lighting and backgrounds...that's it...90 minutes of perfection... Instead we get sh*tty CGI video clips (from the Toy Story 1 era) that give the whole game away for half the show. Don't even start me on the cartoons...seriously? S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y!?!?!?! I don't get it...I just don't get it... I don’t really agree or at least certainly not to this extent but I do think there’s an interesting point. The show is so entertaining and overwhelming that it does perhaps mask a slight crisis of identity… As intoanewlife says, it could have just been a digital concert with life size ABBAtars onstage playing songs and a light show alongside it. Clearly when making the show they decided that’s not what they wanted to do, and I personally think that was the right decision. So it becomes a sort of digital musical audio visual extravaganza experience. Which is fab… but then there are strange things that feel like they hark back to an earlier draft where it was just going to be the ABBAtars onstage and the experience was meant to match a real live concert as closely as possible, such as the cartoons to cover big costume changes (which I think it’s fair to say most people seem to agree are the least exciting moments of the show) and which for the obvious reason that neither costumes nor costume wearers are real, don’t actually need to take the length of a song and cartoon to happen. For me, personally, if anything I think they could have pushed it further. Once we’ve seen the stage illusion broken once why not do more things that can only be done in this new digital medium. E.g. Why not have them change costumes magically mid song a la Elsa in Frozen? Maybe that’s cheesy but if we’re living in this hybrid digital reality for 90min I wonder if that could actually heighten the experience rather than spoil it? There’s a specific moment {Spoiler - click to view}as Lay All Your Love On Me is ending, where we’ve been watching them perform as oversized avatars, intercut and edited like a music video. The camera is suddenly way above their heads, we see lights begin to mark out a pattern around them on the floor, the camera zooms down, then round to a front view and as the song segues into the intro of Summer Night City, we suddenly realise we’re face on, and looking at them in 3D on the stage, the illusion created before our eyes. It was my favourite single moment of the entire night, the most audacious use of the digital tech, and the moment that proved to me that it doesn’t matter if you know how they do the trick of the trick is done this well. Anyway, none of this takes away from how much I loved it or is going to stop me booking to take my family at some point down the road, just musings a week or so later. I have a feeling the Abbatars are extremely expensive to create and perfect and a few video montages were much cheaper which is why there are so many of them. |
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Post by intoanewlife on May 31, 2022 11:48:59 GMT
Actually everyone has already said all the things I’ve said only they still gave it 5 stars. These things weren’t enough to ruin it for them whereas it took me out of the experience instead of dragging me into it further. I get why it’s structured the way it is to resemble a modern day concert and I knew those elements where coming, but I just didn’t realise they were going to be such a huge part of it. I just thought there was way too much of it used to the detriment of the show. I have a problem with screens overshadowing performers at most concerts, just a bug-bare of mine, so to see it used so heavily here annoyed me when for me the concert sections were far more impressive in every way. To me once the illusion was given away, it kind of ruined it for me. Now in saying all that, if those things don’t bother you you’ll love it as it is a phenomenal achievement. As I said the tech is brilliant and the sound and arena ARE amazing. I would say I was more disappointed than anything else as sensory overload doesn’t equal amazing for me. The fact that they were able to capture the human side of it all so well and then chose to continually overshadow it with spectacle really just rubbed me the wrong way. I am sure the next time I see it (Thursday) with lowered expectations and knowing what’s coming I will be able to just let go and enjoy it more. Why on earth are you going back?! I already had the Thursday tickets since last year with a friend but my partner decided he wanted to go so we got tickets for last night. It seems people find any sort of criticism as a sign that I hated it or thought it was crap when that isn’t the case. It is just very different to what I thought it was going to be, but it certainly isn’t bad. |
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Post by partytentdown on May 31, 2022 11:54:03 GMT
Why on earth are you going back?! I already had the Thursday tickets since last year with a friend but my partner decided he wanted to go so we got tickets for last night. It seems people find any sort of criticism as a sign that I hated it or thought it was crap when that isn’t the case. It is just very different to what I thought it was going to be, but it certainly isn’t bad. I think because it came across more as a rant than a criticism... |
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Post by intoanewlife on May 31, 2022 11:59:50 GMT
I already had the Thursday tickets since last year with a friend but my partner decided he wanted to go so we got tickets for last night. It seems people find any sort of criticism as a sign that I hated it or thought it was crap when that isn’t the case. It is just very different to what I thought it was going to be, but it certainly isn’t bad. I think because it came across more as a rant than a criticism... Lol Last nights was definitely a rant…todays is more measured and well balanced  I was also very tired after 2 weeks schlepping throughout Sweden and Norway so that may have also added to my crankiness… As I can’t edit my post however it is now captured in time for posterity lol |
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Post by ShoreditchTom on May 31, 2022 12:10:16 GMT
I was there last night and whilst I really enjoyed it and think it's a technical marvel I'm personally not so sure this is the future! I just found 3,000 people on their feet at the end applauding a recording a bit..... odd.
I think because it's ABBA, because the songs are so good, because it is nostalgic (a pretty old audience last night in the main) and because it is new and novel and people feel part of something it works (eg it's funny to hear their recorded banter about "being back in London") but long term I'm not sure there are that many acts I'd want to pay top dollar to see a "digital presentation" of.
Maybe it will work for nostalgia acts, maybe it will be some sort of new hybrid between cinema and live events but the price needs to come down a lot for that.
Would you pay to see a similar "presentation" of current artists eg Adele in Vegas?! Certainly some artists who have issues/don't like playing live may prefer it and you could argue the artist is a "brand" and so if the band, visuals, venue and overall experience is top notch people may like and pay for it but for me it's a bit weird.
I also wonder how good it will be on those wet Tuesdays when it isn't that full and the communal aspect isn't so strong - I guess that is why they have built a relatively small venue. When a theatre or gig is half empty it is still live and a shared energy with audience/cast/performer, you don't get that here.
tl:dr I think this will work well for ABBA. They are genius business people and they have created an amazing ongoing business franchise for their kids. I'm not convinced this will be a model that lots of other acts will follow. It may find niches eg a cut down version of a similar sort of thing for artists like Beatles, Beach Boys, Elvis etc could work for cruise ships where they know they will fill the room each time but to me there is something odd that tonights show will be exactly the same as last nights and tomorrow nights. But as a piece of technology it's interesting!
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Post by partytentdown on May 31, 2022 12:14:40 GMT
I was there last night and whilst I really enjoyed it and think it's a technical marvel I'm personally not so sure this is the future! I just found 3,000 people on their feet at the end applauding a recording a bit..... odd. I think because it's ABBA, because the songs are so good, because it is nostalgic (a pretty old audience last night in the main) and because it is new and novel and people feel part of something it works (eg it's funny to hear their recorded banter about "being back in London") but long term I'm not sure there are that many acts I'd want to pay top dollar to see a "digital presentation" of. Maybe it will work for nostalgia acts, maybe it will be some sort of new hybrid between cinema and live events but the price needs to come down a lot for that. Would you pay for see a similar "presentation" of current artists eg Adele in Vegas?! Certainly some artists who have issues/don't like playing live may prefer it and you could argue the artist is a "brand" and so if the band, visuals, venue and overall experience is part of that people may like it but for me it's a bit weird. I also wonder how good it will be on those wet Tuesdays when it isn't that full and the communal aspect isn't so strong - I guess that is why they have built a relatively small venue. When a theatre or gig is half empty it is still live and a shared energy with audience/cast/performer, you don't get that here. tl:dr I think this will work well for ABBA. They are genius business people and they have created an amazing ongoing business franchise for their kids. I'm not convinced this will be a model that lots of other acts will follow. It may find niches eg a cut down version of a similar sort of thing for artists like Beatles, Beach Boys, Elvis etc could work for cruise ships where they know they will fill the room each time but to me there is something odd that tonights show will be exactly the same as last nights and tomorrow nights. But as a piece of technology it's interesting! I agree this could work in Vegas for dead/non current/legacy acts like Elvis, The Beatles etc. I can imagine them doing 'residencies' of a couple of years each on rotation. They could easily be created using this tech and body doubles/lookalikes. But I doubt the likes of Adele would work, why would you pay the same price to see fake Adele as you would the real one when she tours every few years? Also even if you could, it would sabotage sales for the real thing if you could just see her whenever you wanted. But who knows! |
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Post by ShoreditchTom on May 31, 2022 12:26:52 GMT
Although to contradict myself maybe someone who is right at the back at Hyde Park watching Adele on a far distant screen would prefer to spend the same money to sit in a "boutique" venue and be served food and drink whilst watching an "exclusive" Adele "presentation" with their nearest and dearest and some other fans.
I guess it's "content" related to something the audience likes - but does the star need to be present?!
In someways I wonder if this was the debate when Cinema first appeared!
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Post by Jon on May 31, 2022 12:29:46 GMT
I think the Presley and Jackson estates will look into the ABBATar technology but I cannot see the remaining Beatles agreeing to it especially since Paul McCartney still tours plus it is a legal and logistic nightmare to license the likeness and vocals of the deceased members from the Lennon and Harrison estates.
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Post by harry on May 31, 2022 12:41:19 GMT
I’m with you on this not being “the future”. ABBA and their music have a special place in the cultural consciousness, somewhere right on the naff/genius boundary which allows them to do things like this and Mamma Mia and be lauded for the quality of the songs and presentation while mainly avoiding criticism of somehow selling out, or trying to make a quick buck. Part of that is that they (or certainly the two Bs) seem to have quite a lot of creative control over the ongoing output and also (in my opinion) know how high a quality the product needs to be to mainly avoid these criticisms.
I know they didn’t write Mamma Mia (the show) themselves nor did that show invent the jukebox musical but it certainly encouraged lots of other bands to give it a go and 2 films and 23 years later (plus multiple productions worldwide and touring) it’s still standing where many of its imitators tried and failed.
As I’ve said before I enjoyed the whole experience of Voyage hugely but I don’t think it’s really a concert and I think other artists need to really understand that before just assuming they can do their own version.
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