Is ABBA Voyage Really the Future of Live Music? · James Clark

Is Voyage ABBA

Written by James Clark Artwork by Nell Wedgwood

Having been an avid concert-goer for six years, and an ABBA fan for twice that, the news of ABBA Voyage, the virtual concert residency of the greatest pop band of alltime, was like a dream come true. For years I’ve pored over every single bit of ABBA concert footage available, played the live albums, and listened to every bootleg to boot. But now, finally, it was my chance to get as close as possible to a band that shaped not only my childhood but the lives of millions of people around the globe; who would doubtless be heading straight for London to do the same.

The initial reviews were staggering: an immersive 3D experience with technology that has to be seen to be believed, and more hits than you can shake a stick at. ABBA were once again heralded as pioneers – this time of a new concert epoch, combining the corporeal with the virtual and moving beyond humanity’s limits. Of course, this is fine in theory, but how illusionary and boundary-breaking could the concert really be? In early August, after months of waiting, it was my turn to experience what was being heralded as a mind-bending, reality-defying night of live entertainment. I took my space near the front of the stage, eager to get as close as possible to the fab four’s virtual appearance. Then, suddenly, with a flash of light and a puff of smoke - there they were. Or rather there they weren’t. The illusion of a material ABBA standing directly before me was so carefully crafted, utilising arenaspanning lighting effects and a precise angling of the stage, that it became easy to forget the barrage of hits being thrown at you. These 3D models didn’t just look like ABBA, they were ABBA: from the stray hairs to the individual physical habits, the realism is undeniable, and I had to keep reminding myself the band wasn’t actually in the room with me.

And yet – for all the visual magic, the unparalleled setlist, and the tangible sense of joy amongst the crowd - something felt off. I’m not sure if it was the use of ABBA’s studio vocals or the gap between the projection of the ‘ABBA-tars’ and the front of the stage, but at times it seemed to me like a

Really The Future Of Live Music?

glorified club night. Naturally, I still had an incredible time, and judging by the comments of others who’ve seen the show I’m in the minority with my reservations. But I can’t shake the feeling it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

ABBA Voyage was one of the first concerts I’d been to after a two-year global pandemic-enforced break, and all the rest I’ve been to since have been some of the best nights I’ve ever had. The jubilation felt in those venues served as a reminder of how joyful and freeing it can be to celebrate the same thing as thousands of other fans. After two years of staring at a screen, now music fans have the chance to interact and engage with their favourite artists in the flesh, who seemed more grateful and attentive than ever to the fans who’d seen them through an incredibly turbulent time for the arts. Perhaps this was the reason why ABBA Voyage fell slightly flat for me. Although there was a brilliant live band playing alongside the ‘ABBA-tars’, there was something distant and aloof about the whole exercise that made me think I might have had a better evening putting on the 1977 classic, ABBA: The Movie. With concerts like ABBA Voyage being dubbed the ‘future of live music’, I wonder how I’d feel if these predictions were to materialise in the coming years. As climate change threatens to restrict the length and frequency of artists’ travels, and fans pining for a way to see their favourite musicians in their prime, I wouldn’t be surprised if virtual live music becomes a staple of the arts scene in decades to come.

But as successful as ABBA Voyage proved these ventures can be, I wouldn’t consider virtual concerts a replacement, or even a rival, to the real thing. The hologram future that ABBA Voyage offers may be the ticket to a whole new realm of musical endeavours but, for the rest of us mere mortals, I think its course will forever run parallel to whatever new and exciting live talent is due to come our way in the future. If the pandemic taught us anything it’s that we want to see and be seen; ABBA Voyage, for all its vision and verisimilitude, can’t offer us that quite yet.