As soon as it was announced, I knew that I had to move heaven and earth to see the ABBA hologram show. As a gay, it is my birthright. I love ABBA, but I was fairly skeptical, as the whole thing felt a little dystopian. That feeling persists slightly, having seen the show, but I was overwhelmingly blown away by the experience and feel as though I saw the future of entertainment.
The best parts of the show by far are when the holograms are on stage, made to look as though it's a real concert. Looking at the holograms from my seat (center of the second row in the seated section), I couldn't believe that what I was seeing were projections. The use of lighting was what really sold the experience. The way that, even in the dark, the sequins of the band's outfits were visible was a nice touch. I'd guess that the lighting in the arena was designed second, to work off of the pre-programmed lighting that the holograms interacted with, but the whole thing was seamless.
I did not care for the portions of the show that used the large screens as the primary centerpiece. It felt like I was watching a music video with 2,000 people rather than attending a concert. This was about 1/3 of the concert, I'd guess, so it did detract slightly.
It feels like nitpicking to complain at all about this show, though. It's amazing. The live band is amazing (and very under-appreciated). The technology is amazing. ABBA sounds as good as ever. Within a few years, we'll see dozens more legacy artists immortalized in these hologram shows, but ABBA will be hard to top, as always.
Slight spoilers: At the end of the show, ABBA comes out, looking as they do in 2022. I lost my mind, convinced that ABBA came to this random Thursday night performance, months into the run of the show. It was, of course, more holograms. read more