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Post by distantcousin on Jun 13, 2022 13:51:57 GMT
After Abba, and now Queen & Lambo the other night I am convinced that it is the older generation that are obsessed with filming everything rather than the youth.
They totally are. It's so ALL pervading. They've seen their kids do it, so Gen X is getting just as bad. All very "monkey see, monkey do"
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Post by mkb on Jun 14, 2022 15:09:16 GMT
Can something so problematic deserve a high rating?
Let's look at the problems:
- It was ticketed by Ticketmaster rather than an in-house system, so the booking fees are excessive, the IT poor and the customer service woeful. (How this outfit was not sued out of existence after the 2012 Olympics ticketing debacle, I don't know.)
- On arrival, the labelling of the two entrances bore no relation to the entrance description on my virtual ticket.
- Despite arriving twenty minutes before the 19:45 start, there were huge queues and we were not inside until 19:52, with the start delayed until 19:57. There were simply not enough staff doing the bag and body searches
- A small, paperback, non-glossy programme with little interesting content was priced at £15 and would be over-priced at £5.
- The hype about "3D" and "Abbatars" is all marketing BS. What you're getting is a giant 2D screen: there is nothing three-dimensional about the appearance of the Abba members. You're essentially watching a 92-minute movie in front of which a seven-piece band and three singers pop up occasionally.
- The show's pricing is double what would be reasonable.
- The seated area is some way back from the screen. You will see everything unobstructed, but it will not be immersive. The crowd here stood only for a few numbers towards the end. If you are able to stand, you would be mad not to go for the general admission area. The view here is good, even for shorter people, and it's not too squashed as it can be at some venues.
- The running time is far too short. The decision not to run this like a regular gig with two halves of at least an hour each, plus an interval, seemed strange, as was the decision to have just one song as the encore. I presume it's about throughput, and, once local residents and the local authority have been satisfied on noise issues, the organisers can step up to two shows a night.
So what of the technology? It appeared to be the same as what I was wowed by in January at Universal Studios in Orlando at The Bourne Stuntacular: - At its heart is an expansive, ultra-high-definition tv screen with very high dynamic range, i.e. pure blacks and very bright whites. When a real crowd of actors gathered in front of a crowd on the televised screen, it was difficult at first to see who was real and who was virtual. (Pause the video at 9:46 to see what I mean.) Universal take the whole thing to another level by having scenery and action that moves on the stage in sync with the motion picture. As I'm a techie geek, it was the highlight of my theme park visits.
I hadn't expected the same technology to be in play in East London, but here it was, and it worked just as well. The show uses thirteen floor-to-ceiling screens: one large one spanning the rear wall of the stage with slightly curved ends, and six narrow ones, each about 3m wide, that run down the left wall and a further six down the right. These thinner panels are movable and sometimes space out with equally-sized gaps between them and sometimes join together to form one continuous screen wrapping around the stage. At other times, various cloth screens drop down from the ceiling for conventional rear or front projection on to them.
When the images of the youthful Abba members first appear out of the dark, they genuinely look real, and it takes quite some staring to see that it's only a screen. Technological curiosity sated, I was then able to suspend disbelief, go with the flow, pretend it was real, and enjoy the spectacle. To be able to do that is key to whether you'll have a good time.
The real band first appear a few songs in, rising at stage right, and the three singers among them proceed to dance around the full stage. The handover of the soundtrack from the Abbatars to the band at that point is deliberately clunky, presumably so the audience can appreciate the switch from the recorded music to the live. This made me suspicious of how much of the soundtrack in the five-or-so subsequent tracks on which the band appear is live or mimed, as the blending was invisible. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that it was all entirely or mainly pre-recorded.
But, no matter, it wasn't them we'd come to see. We were here for Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid, or at least their 1980s selves. And what a magical fun encounter it was. This is as close to being transported back in time as you will get.
The lighting design is breath-taking, with the auditorium lighting blending almost seamlessly with the virtual on-screen lighting. The sound design is second to none: there's crystal clarity even though the volume has been ratcheted to have plenty of oomph.
Despite all the issues, I had a broad grin on my face throughout the show, once it started. I danced. I sang. It was great fun. I even rebelliously took some pictures and videos. <WAITS FOR ADMONISHMENT> It would be churlish to downrate it.
Five stars.
Show: 19:57-21:29
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2022 11:04:20 GMT
Excellent review, I was surprised there is no interval from a revenue point of view. But concerts are usually run straight through once the main act comes on and we don't know how easy it is to stop and restart all the technology. I would have thought a couple more songs at least could have been added given the back catalogue is so huge.
Do they do matinees for this as if demand was there you could do some afternoon or early evening shows and Abba would have older fans who are retired and could easily make or would prefer earlier shows.
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Post by alece10 on Jun 16, 2022 11:27:20 GMT
Excellent review, I was surprised there is no interval from a revenue point of view. But concerts are usually run straight through once the main act comes on and we don't know how easy it is to stop and restart all the technology. I would have thought a couple more songs at least could have been added given the back catalogue is so huge. Do they do matinees for this as if demand was there you could do some afternoon or early evening shows and Abba would have older fans who are retired and could easily make or would prefer earlier shows. Yes they have matinées twice a week I believe. I went to a Saturday matinee the week it opened.
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Post by d'James on Jun 17, 2022 12:40:21 GMT
Check the 29th of August Matinee. It’s a new date and I got some cheap(ish) tickets. There’s loads of availability right now.
I don’t work for them, honest, but I’m so excited that I’ve got tickets to see it when I’m back this summer.
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Post by alece10 on Jun 17, 2022 16:03:50 GMT
Check the 29th of August Matinee. It’s a new date and I got some cheap(ish) tickets. There’s loads of availability right now. I don’t work for them, honest, but I’m so excited that I’ve got tickets to see it when I’m back this summer. Are you doing Jeremy Jordan in the evening? That would make a great day.
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Post by steve10086 on Jun 17, 2022 16:54:06 GMT
Check the 29th of August Matinee. It’s a new date and I got some cheap(ish) tickets. There’s loads of availability right now. I don’t work for them, honest, but I’m so excited that I’ve got tickets to see it when I’m back this summer. Are you doing Jeremy Jordan in the evening? That would make a great day. Is “doing Jeremy Jordan” something that can be booked? If so, I’d certainly have a go!
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Post by inthenose on Jun 17, 2022 17:31:31 GMT
Are you doing Jeremy Jordan in the evening? That would make a great day. Is “doing Jeremy Jordan” something that can be booked? If so, I’d certainly have a go! gillian
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Post by d'James on Jun 17, 2022 19:44:34 GMT
Check the 29th of August Matinee. It’s a new date and I got some cheap(ish) tickets. There’s loads of availability right now. I don’t work for them, honest, but I’m so excited that I’ve got tickets to see it when I’m back this summer. Are you doing Jeremy Jordan in the evening? That would make a great day. I haven’t met him yet. No I probs won’t do an evening show that day.
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Post by alece10 on Jun 17, 2022 21:51:03 GMT
Oops! My post was rather badly worded but in hindsight it's rather a nice thought.
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 19, 2022 12:31:42 GMT
My only complaint was that - for the money - yes the show could have been 15 minutes longer. (too many of their biggest hits were missing and should have been included)
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Post by danb on Jun 19, 2022 13:24:27 GMT
I only realised how much ‘Super Trooper’ was missed when watching ‘Mamma Mia’ on Friday. It would have made a much better encore than the existing one (which IMHO should be much earlier in the set).
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Post by ptwest on Jun 19, 2022 13:41:35 GMT
I suspect that Super Trouper will be added at some point when a sales boost is needed. It has been said that more songs have been recorded than are in the show.
Out of interest has anyone been in one of the dance booths? I couldn’t tell if there was enough room for everyone to see properly if all in there chose to go to the front. Wouldn’t be a problem if you were all one group I guess but could be if mixing with others.
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Post by alece10 on Jun 19, 2022 14:36:45 GMT
I suspect that Super Trouper will be added at some point when a sales boost is needed. It has been said that more songs have been recorded than are in the show. Out of interest has anyone been in one of the dance booths? I couldn’t tell if there was enough room for everyone to see properly if all in there chose to go to the front. Wouldn’t be a problem if you were all one group I guess but could be if mixing with others. You pay for the whole dance booth so you will only be with people in your group. No mixing of groups
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653 posts
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Post by ptwest on Jun 19, 2022 14:53:55 GMT
I suspect that Super Trouper will be added at some point when a sales boost is needed. It has been said that more songs have been recorded than are in the show. Out of interest has anyone been in one of the dance booths? I couldn’t tell if there was enough room for everyone to see properly if all in there chose to go to the front. Wouldn’t be a problem if you were all one group I guess but could be if mixing with others. You pay for the whole dance booth so you will only be with people in your group. No mixing of groups That’s really helpful, thank you.
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Post by interval99 on Jun 19, 2022 21:01:44 GMT
www.ticketmaster.co.uk/abba-voyage#ticketsIf you open the link and scroll down to ticket types and use the arrow to call up the details on dance booths you will see you can book single seats or any number up to the whole booth. Not been in one but speaking to people post show who had did say they were special and everyone could stand at the front for viewing the show but as booths are 10 to 12 people it's likely you will be in mixed group. At £153 a ticket they are just below the premium block c prices of £160, almost certainly better if you are sharing with people you know but on the while the ABBA voyage crowd have been a social bunch.
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 19, 2022 22:16:18 GMT
I only realised how much ‘Super Trooper’ was missed when watching ‘Mamma Mia’ on Friday. It would have made a much better encore than the existing one (which IMHO should be much earlier in the set).
Agreed. I feel the final song is the most bizarre choice. Not a very uplifting, joyous ending, really?!? Far too melancholy! (brilliant as it is, but as an ENCORE?!)
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 19, 2022 22:18:08 GMT
I suspect that Super Trouper will be added at some point when a sales boost is needed. It has been said that more songs have been recorded than are in the show. Out of interest has anyone been in one of the dance booths? I couldn’t tell if there was enough room for everyone to see properly if all in there chose to go to the front. Wouldn’t be a problem if you were all one group I guess but could be if mixing with others.
I read an interview with the director Baillie Walsh just the other day. He confirmed that the setlist will be updated/added to in the fullness of time.
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Post by pianowithsam on Jun 26, 2022 19:53:18 GMT
Block F? Thoughts? Obviously, is furthest to the side but have heard that there aren’t any “bad” seats in the arena. Please let me know if you’ve sat here (or on equivalent other side) and whereabouts. Curious with your thoughts!
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 26, 2022 20:00:17 GMT
Block F? Thoughts? Obviously, is furthest to the side but have heard that there aren’t any “bad” seats in the arena. Please let me know if you’ve sat here (or on equivalent other side) and whereabouts. Curious with your thoughts! pianowithsam, this is where I sat SECTION BL F ROW E SEAT 7 and my view was fine. The size of the screen and the clarity of the ABBAtars, I challenge any seat to be bad. Hope this helps
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Post by danb on Jun 26, 2022 20:08:10 GMT
Yes, we were block f row l, and the view was fine.
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Post by aliwag on Jun 30, 2022 13:01:11 GMT
Can someone tell me how long the show lasts please? I've seen messages saying it needed to be about 15 mins longer, but I can't see an actual running time anywhere? Many thanks
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Post by mkb on Jun 30, 2022 13:14:22 GMT
Can someone tell me how long the show lasts please? I've seen messages saying it needed to be about 15 mins longer, but I can't see an actual running time anywhere? Many thanks I always put my experience of running times (rounded to the previous minute) in any mini-reviews I post. See my 14 June posting in this thread, but, obviously, every day could be different, especially with regards to how late they start.
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Post by aliwag on Jun 30, 2022 13:24:22 GMT
Found it - thank you!
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Post by alece10 on Jun 30, 2022 13:58:55 GMT
Just booked my 2nd outing to see ABBA next week. Loved it so much the first time.
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