Kate Coleman, Shelly, and I got tickets to see ABBAFab, the ABBA tribute band at the Capital One Hall in Tysons Corner. Everybody loves ABBA, whether they'll admit it or not, and we were looking forward to the show.
Before the show, we had dinner at La Sandia in the Tysons Corner Mall. It was Cinco de Mayo, and the restaurant had a DJ playing tunes, quite loudly in fact. Shelly had a light appetite and just ordered the Caldito de Pollo soup, consisting of pulled chicken, potatoes, veggie medley, cilantro, avocado and chipotle broth. She said it was delicious and with the chips and salsa, was quite filling for her. Kate ordered the Jalisco Shrimp Enchiladas, which included poblano rajas, chipotle sauce, avocado crema fresca, fried sweet plantains, and cotija rice. It too, was delicious. I had the Birria Enchiladas with achiote beef brisket, crispy cheese, avocado, pickled escabeche, and radish, and it was quite good. We chatted for two hours and had a great time.
We arrived at Capital One Hall and it is a beautiful venue. It seats around 1600 people and we had left orchestra seats 12 rows from the stage. The performers were wonderful, bringing back the 1970's with great music, singing, costumes, and stage presence. With songs like "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Dancing Queen", "S.O.S", "Waterloo", and the finale, "Mama Mia!", ABBAFab hit all the right notes. Kelly Anne Gower, Julia Tramer, Scotty Pearson, Nick Davies were ABBA and there were three excellent musicians supporting them.
The show was not a sell-out, and there were a few seats open in the front row. Shelly followed a few others to fill the seats in the first few rows. She was front and center, and really enjoyed the performance.
I never saw ABBA live, so it was a real treat. ABBA was the group everyone loved but wouldn't admit it. I had most of their albums, and would have loved to see them live, but the opportunity never came. ABBAFab was a great alternative to seeing the one-and-only originals.
We all had a great time! Here's some photos and videos:
Here's me, Shelly, and Kate before the show:
ABBAFab rockin' the house:
Here's Shelly, lead guitarist Scotty Pearson, and an ABBAFab fan:
Here's Shelly with some avid fans:
Shelly during the performance of "Chiquitita".
A video of Scotty Pearson, lead guitarist:
The finale, "Mama Mia!":
Thanks so much coming to the show. Hopefully it will be a night you don't soon forget!