ABBA at the Chumash Casino

A troupe of jazzy Swedes invaded the Chumash Samala Showroom on Thursday night, re-creating the long-popular, infectious songs of ABBA.

Only one member of the original ABBA touring group was on stage to win applause from the full house, bassist Mike Watson, who’s actually a Brit. He’s also known as the Napoleon figure on the Waterloo album cover.

As for the performance, it was a high-energy night, with bright lights, wailing electric guitars, booming sound, and dazzling costumes. The set list featured jazzed-up versions of old favorites like “Fernando,” “Take a Chance on Me,” and “Waterloo” — sort of like Stockholm meets Las Vegas.

Formed in the early 1970s by Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, ABBA (the first letters of their first names) broke up in 1982 due to personal difficulties. Otherwise, they could still be touring, I suppose.

On Thursday night the 10-member ABBA The Concert tribute group had high-spirited fans dancing along in the aisles and really got the crowd on its feet and waving arms with the hit of the night, “Mama Mia.”