Björn Again and Village People | Crown Theatre | May 21 | ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Zaccaria Concerts brought the Village People and special guests Björn Again to the Crown Theatre last night; a fun-filled evening with their hits from the 70’s and 80’s, some you remember well, and some you didn’t know you knew all the words to.

Björn Again opened with that fantastic, high octane ABBA energy performing Waterloo and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) which transitioned beautifully into Madonna’s Hung Up.

Plenty of dancing and enjoyment was had as the night went on, many songs involving simple moves for the audience to perform with the band on stage. While some members of the audience took some time to warm up, by the time they closed with Mamma Mia and Dancing Queen almost everyone was on their feet grooving along, having a good time, and singing loudly.

The lighting was beautifully coordinated with the costuming all throughout, the sound balanced and cranked to an enjoyable but not deafening level, and performed excellently. As Benny Andersson once said, “Björn Again are the closest you can get to seeing ABBA,” so if you enjoy a good night out and some classic ABBA tunes, I would heartily recommend them.

The Village People followed to a warmed crowed after a well-deserved intermission. The two original band members Felipe Rose and Alex Briley showed us they’ve still got it; opening with Macho Man they danced and performed their way through nearly a dozen classics.

Ray Simpson lead the vocals, with newer members Bill Whitefield and Jim Newman holding their own with veteran Eric Anzalone as they did the Milkshake, and the Y.M.C.A which apparently, we’ve all been doing wrong for years!

Though a little heavy-handed on the strobe lighting, the show was otherwise a strong success; a definitely fun night out for all ages.

James Hynson