WHAT FANS WANT TO KNOW

Firstly, the BAO show overall was amazing. However, there was no discussion, mention, hint, nada regarding Kristina in English and the struggle to bring it to the States. Helen did sing "Home" in English. That was it. She told a little story about the song to describe where it fits in the show and that was our Kristina moment. End.

BAO did 4 and a half ABBA songs: Ring Ring in Swedish, followed by I Do x 5, Money x 3, and the fantastic last song of Why Did It Have to Be Me. They also played Lottis Schottis, which was the evolution of "the Hamlet thingy" as Scarlett says. Kudos to Wayne who actually knew how to do a schottis and the hambo, which saved many of us left footers.

In talking with many who have seen BAO before, or at least the set list, the show was the same. Helen was in fine form, belting everything out and having a really good time up there. We were treated to an eclectic mix of American 50s songs by Tommy, including "Moon River," "He'll Have to Go," "Sway," and a Chuck Berry song I don't know the name of but had Dora, Kevin and Randy on the dance floor. Kalle Moreus sang an absolutely stunning version of "O Solo Mio."

During the 15 minute intermission, Benny and Mona were presented with an award and lifetime membership in the American Swedish Institute. Helen did the meet and greet thing after the show and the entire band sans Benny stayed around quite a bit too. By the time ABBAMAILers had headed off to the bar, we knew the band would show up eventually. When they came in, we clapped and cheered and Benny turned to us and said, "You are the best audience." Jason, Anita, and Ursula were on watch as our Etiquette Police, directing those of us who had never done this and were incredibly excited. At the end of the meal, Benny did graciously sign and pose for pictures.

It was an amazing night and a dream come true for many of us, I think.

PART II

I had been having a shit week leading into this, and I was bereft. I had been looking forward to this for so long, and I ended up being sick as a dog in the early part of the week and just generally having a shit time. This culminated in the fact that the car I ordered did not pick me up on time Friday afternoon. This was crucial, because we were in the middle of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in the city, and between the traffic and the drunks, it was not pretty. After screaming at the car company dispatcher that I hoped they were happy that they'd ruined my whole fucking weekend, I had to scramble for a taxi -- horrible situation on any Friday night at 5:30 and doubly so that day. But I found one, and I made it. I got on my flight, which was an hour delayed taking off, where I alternately slept and put together the name badges I had done. The plane was hotter than hell, I was sweating, and my irritability quotient was very, very high.

I arrived at the hotel and I'm trying to check in, and the person helping me can't put two sentences together, and the nasty New Yorker in me was rising, big time. I heard someone call my name, and I turned around, and there she was -- Fiona Metcalfe, all the way from Kiama Downs, Australia. I was truly stunned, and lucky for me, 10 ABBAMAILers were there to take my picture and preserve the moment forever. Fiona and I hugged, and then I hugged and kissed about 10 more people, and stunned me was escorted to her room by Sandra and Fiona, where I quickly changed out of my sweaty top, refreshed, and went down to the bar. This was between 10:30 pm and 11:00 pm, and most everyone had been in the bar awhile by then and had either caught up with those they knew and loved and became fast friends with those new to our group. I was bleary eyed and I let Mikey buy me a drink, which I got through half of and then ordered a Pina Colada. Fiona had kindly ordered chicken strips and shared them with me as I was kissing and catching up and meeting new people. We wrapped it up at about 2:00 am and I agreed to meet Fiona for breakfast the next day at 9:30 am. I got back up to my room and passed out on the bed -- on top of my suitcase and all.

The next morning, I had breakfast with Fiona and we caught up a bit, then took the shuttle to the Mall with a group of others who also saw no reason to be at SBFM at 9:30 am. David joined us for awhile, and Fred and Judy went their own way but we caught up later. I saw such novel stores as Al's Farm Toys (uh, we don't have those here in NYC) and Fiona bought me a T shirt that says, "You're just jealous because the voices talk to me." But really -- I grew up in suburbia and the mall thing was no biggie to me. It was a Mall that went on forever, with amusement park rides in the centre, and it was full of children and families which makes me crazy. But having lunch was crucial -- I knew I was not going to eat hardly any of the food at dinner that night.

So Dora and Kevin called me, and Fiona, David, and I went to meet them, and were also joined by Wayne and then Fred and Judy. As our groups kept growing, it got harder and harder to fit us all at the same place. But this kind of inclusiveness is important to me and the New York pushiness comes out strong here. After lunch, we did a bit more shopping then got on the shuttle home -- we had to change and get ready.

Scarlett, my roommate, had a delayed flight, and we still needed to spring Fiona on her. So Fiona and I hung out in her room until Scarlett called to let us know she was in. We then went down to my room and I went in first, hugged and kissed and helloed, then came a knock at the door. Scarlett opened it, and was just as stunned as I was. More hugging, talking, catching up, and then we had to get ready.

I must say, we all looked stunning. It was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many ABBAMAILers decked out to the nines -- the men looked incredibly handsome in suits and ties, dapper dressers all. The ladies looked lovely in a variety of evening styles and it was all just so cool. The reception had started at 6, so half the crowd was upstairs milling and the other half was still in the hotel lounge. From an administrative standpoint, I had a minor heart attack because as we went to pick up our tickets, we were all assigned to different tables, but having done dinner seating myself, I know that it was possible to have Table 4 next to Table 16. So I figured we'd all go to our tables and sit with who we wanted and play musical chairs when we got into the ballroom.

The major heart attack came when I saw that other dinner guests were mixed into our tables, and I wasn't sure how much room we had to play musical chairs. Then began my quest to get hold of the people I'd been talking to at ASI, because when I called to confirm everything, I'd been assured it was fine. We were all seated at tables in the same area, and all of those tables were up front, some right at the edge of the dance floor.

I want to publicly thank everyone there that night who made me feel very loved, who were gracious and accommodating under not the best of circumstances, who continually assured me that everything would be fine, who thanked me for getting everything this far. It was fine, it was absolutely wonderful, and I never felt so loved or taken care of in my life as I did by you people at that moment. I was not happy with Mr. Johnson's initial answer of, "We did the best we could," but as I dashed to the bathroom between opening announcements and the auctioneer, I realized, ASI really did work hard to accommodate the ABBAMAIL group. We were right up front; 600 people -- most of them ASI members --in that room and we were right up front. They are a small organization and this was a huge event for them; the fact that they gave us the consideration they did, in retrospect, I was very, very happy. And one of the things I never considered until just now is I did list instructions on how to join us on the website very publicly; there could have been people like Isao who saw the event listed on the ABBAMAIL site, ordered tickets on their own, and just put they wanted to sit with us. So we got to be together, and talk to other ABBA and Benny fans, and it was fabulous.

I danced and drank and danced and laughed and talked and it was wonderful. I love Lottis Schottis and that's when I asked Wayne to teach me how; we went around the floor doing the best we could but joining in and having fun. Benny would often call out what was coming, and I liked the fact that he'd do two together -- two waltzes, two polkas, two hambos, two schottis, two tangos, because one number gave you the chance to watch the dance and the other number gave you the chance to do it. And let me tell you, those Minnesota Swedes know what they are doing. At one point I looked at the dance floor and everyone was twirling in unison and it did look really beautiful. We just went out there and did what we could, some better than others, but it really was quite a night. To see Helen on that stage, having a great time and singing her heart out, and have Benny playing accordion and keyboards and just sooo into the music, was great. It was one of the best nights of my life -- I can't imagine when I enjoyed anything so much, or felt so moved by the music. ASI was selling CDs outside the ballroom and I went and picked up all that stuff I'd been meaning to buy and hadn't gotten around to it...$100 worth of stuff!

The show was loooong. In a good way. I really could have lived without Tommy's "Moon River".... Henry Mancini is great, but I detest songs in them with lines like "My huckleberry friend." Huh? Opium pipe too full? I'd hoped for "Anthem" or at the very least, "Guldet Blev til Sand." But Kalle's rendition of "O Solo Mio" was a surprise to me. This song, as you may or may not know, is an Italian standard that Elvis turned into "It's Now or Never." Kalle sang in what we believe to be the original Italian, it was a great performance, and really not any stranger than the other stuff we'd heard. But BAO played and sang their hearts out, and it really showed. They were up there really in fine form.

We did call Graeme to say we wished he was there and give him a little taste of it. Thanks to Fiona who had a phone that we could use with a minimum of ease to make this happen. We called during one of those songs that sounded like all the other instrumental songs, but then Helen launched into Du Ar Min Man. I thought, Shit, it's Swedish, and then she started to mix the verses and finished the English rendition. Poor Graeme. We were fairly drunk and danced out by then, and some people had never spoken to him before, and we couldn't really hear well, but he was much thought of that night and we wanted him to know it. Jason told me later Helen had meant to start in English but had automatically gone into the Swedish so she mixed it up a bit.

As far as I know, we made both ABBAMAIL and ASI proud that night. When I handed Benny my BAO and Kristina CDs to sign, I asked him how do I get BAO to come to New York. He lit up and said, "That's a good idea. I don't know, in the future, that may be possible."

But good g-d, let's get Kristina to Broadway first.

The Sunday morning brunch was very nice -- the restaurant had reserved the back room for us and it was a breakfast buffet. I was so proud that even though we'd gone to bed around 4 am or later, most everyone came in the morning, including Ron and Jackie, who weren't staying at the Sheraton. The Sunday trip to Target I will have to save for another post.

That my BAO report as I know it. It was a great, great weekend.

Laura Hitchens Astoria, New York, USA