Blasts from the past: Garageband, ABBA tribute shows rock this town
ABBA may have the name, but Garageband Woodstock got the crowd.
The hot days of July brought two hot shows to Abilene, both dusting off favorite songs from music eras gone by. But one drew far more fans than the other.
The 13th Garageband show filled the Taylor County Coliseum floor with fans, many again digging the scene in tie-dye shirts and dresses. Bandannas wrapped gray hair. Others were in sandals and wearing their bell bottom blues.
"I did see a lot of cowboy hats," said Charlie Taylor, before drumming for the Chevelle 5 set. The band had planned to do Rusty Weir's countrified "Don't It Make You Wanna Dance."
The event serves as a big community get-together, indoors and out of the summer heat. The larger the crowd, the more money that goes to New Horizons, the local nonprofit that assists children who have been abused or neglected.
This being 2023, whatever concertgoers were smoking had to be done outside, and margarita-flavored ranch water in cans was a popular drink. And while many dressed retro, they recorded the event on cellphones and checked the time on their Apple watches.
The music, however, was authentic to primarily the 1960s and 1970s.
Molly Hatchett and Fleetwood Mac tunes were performed, both groups once playing the Coliseum. Stevie Wonder, Jefferson Airplane and Golden Earring never did, but their music was alive and well Saturday night.
The unexpected is to be expected at Garageband - "ZZ Top" has shown up at past events. This time, four member of the Hardin-Simmons Cowboy Band brought their drums and added some boom to a rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk."
Shannon Roysden, one of a dozen singers and musicians on stage for the Furies' set, brought down the house again with her spot-on version of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."
Husband Doug, Abilene's rock 'n' roll preacher, showed he still had it. Saturday was his 64th birthday.
Judging by the crowd, he hardly was the oldest one there.
ABBA tribute group was up four it
The ABBA tribute show drew a small but enthusiastic group to the roomy Abilene Convention Center auditorium.
The singers and musicians were "Super Troupers," performing as if 2,000 filled the seats.
"We had a blast in Abilene and would love to come back," said Julia Davies, aka Agnetha - The Blonde in the band.
After the show, the two guys who was Benny (Scotty Pearson) and Bjorn (Cullen Law) and two girls who are Agnetha and Anni-Frida, posed for photos, staying until everyone who wanted a photo op got it. ABBAFAB gets an A for professionalism.
ABBAFAB did "Dancing Queen" two songs in, then concluded the show with arguably the group's greatest hit. Interesting, the band noted it has been together for 15 years - twice as long as ABBA in its heyday.
The flair and outrageousness of the 1970s came to life in the group's dance moves and costumes. The two lead singers several times changed costumes. Bjorn and Benny wore silver platform shoes.
If there was a showstopper, it was Kelly Anne Gower's take on "The Winner Takes It All." The group slowed the song and let her theater-trained voice ring out.
Davies told the audience that she gets chills during each show when that song is performed.
The group did almost all of ABBA's biggest songs, though not "Take a Chance on Me." Many in the audience thought that would be an encore song but "Dancing Queen" was reprised. That got all the queens and kings out of their seats to dance, or at least to sway.
Some normally subdued Abilenians - two attorneys, for example - were seen partying like it was 1979.
Begging the question, "Does Your Mother Know?"
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Blasts from the past: Garageband, ABBA tribute shows rock this town
