Panama Dancing Queens

I regularly receive ads from the Hanover Theater regarding upcoming shows. This is a result of attending a couple events there in the past. I usually glance at them and head for the recycling bin. A couple months ago I noticed an upcoming show featuring an ABBA tribute group. I was torn at this point because while I enjoy their music, I wasn’t ready to fork over the king’s ransom the show required. It was at this point that I realized I had to step up and be a good husband because I knew how my Favorite Panamanian would react. She is a huge fan of the group which was only enhanced when the Mamma Mia craze started a few years ago. I call her the Dancing Queen, because, well, she is. Predictably she boiled over in excitement at the news and the die was cast, I was going to the concert, escorting the two resident Panamanians.

My Dates Last Night

In Their Seats at the Hanover

We Were Pretty Close to Stage

That concert took place last night and I have to admit I had a begrudgingly good time, mostly from watching my wife and mother-in-law immerse themselves in the show. ABBA the Concert is composed of Swedish singers who mimic the real ABBA and pay all of their hits, including the recently released songs, which I wasn’t even aware of. I was surprised at the lack of props as I got the impression this group was used to playing to much smaller crowds. There were no special effects and they had a distracting screen behind them for the whole show. The voices made all the difference though. These gals could really sing, remarkably so. While not a carbon copy of the originals they brought their own tilt and I found it hugely entertaining.

Abba the Concert Lead Singers

Our View Last Night - Base Player to right of Drummer

Hard to Confirm it was Same Guy

The crowd was an interesting mix. I surveyed the assemblage before the show started and remarked to my wife that there was a lot of gray hair in the audience. This tracks for survivors of the 1970s, yours truly certainly included. There was a later arriving section that included a healthy amount of 30-50 year old women who spent the entire show singing along and dancing to the music. I’m guessing this younger bunch came to ABBA though the Momma Mia stage shows and movies. While eclectic the crowd turned out to be a lot of fun and spent the last fifteen minutes on our feet singing along with the pros. There was an interesting connection to the real ABBA as they had the base player from the original group playing with them. He also posed as Napoleon on their Waterloo album cover (you see the things you learn). He looked as aged as the majority of the audience but was still sprightly and engaging. All in all, a very fun night despite by initial trepidations.

FBR and her Pumpkins

The trip to the theater was enhanced by having to navigate through a healthy Nor’easter. I paid for a parking spot across the street so the walk in wasn’t tough. Everyone had to show a vaccination card before entering and wear masks throughout. Still it seemed like a welcome return to something almost normal, or as normal as going to an ABBA tribute band can be. The departure took about 45 minutes since everyone else who went to the show also parked in the same garage. Despite that frustration (and you know how well I handle that) I still counted he night as a win and scored incredible points on the good husband scale with a certain Panamanian.

The Artiste at Work

The FBR finally deigned to speak with us again last night, shortly before we departed for the show. She was fresh off a decorating coup with her dad. She drew all the designs on their Halloween pumpkins and Wingman then carved them. I was impressed; although I shouldn’t be. I mean, we’re talking about my granddaughter after all.

RIP Uncle Gus

Yesterday wasn’t all good news though. I made my daily swing through the online version of my hometown newspaper and a name in the obituaries leapt out at me. Uncle Gus was the husband of one of my mother’s absolute best friends. The first house I remember living in was only a stone’s throw from theirs and, as you can tell from the honorific “uncle” they were very close friends. As I got older I came to love talking with Uncle Gus during our visits home about the Bruins and the antique cars he loved to rebuild. He was a very good man.

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RECURRING CHARACTERS                                            

BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3, BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter, ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete = my daughter in law; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Soxfather - my brother in law; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd musquetera (musketeer); Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member, Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn