Concert Review: Mannheim Steamroller
December 2nd, 2008
Audrey and I went on our annual Christmas date last night. This year I found out that Mannheim Steamroller would be performing at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, and I thought it would be perfect for our annual date! We purchased our tickets in the summer, and I have been excited about the show. We went out to dinner at The Pit downtown, which I intend to review in a separate post.
Audrey had not heard much about Mannheim Steamroller, so I was a little nervous about whether she would like it. Tickets were not cheap, even for the nosebleed section where we were seated. I was very excited when the lights dimmed and the band began to play. My parents played a lot of Mannheim Steamroller at Christmastime when I was growing up, so the music brings back fond childhood memories. Soon after the first song (Hallelujah) started, I was a little concerned. It just wasn’t as good as I was expecting, and I was worried that Audrey wasn’t going to like it. She admitted to me afterward that she felt the same way and thought, “this is what everyone raves about?” The next song, Feliz Navidad, was equally unimpressive. It’s not that either of the songs were bad exactly, but they just weren’t living up to all the hype that had been created in my head.
Thankfully, the next song was Deck the Halls from their popular 1990 album simply entitled Christmas. This song made me very happy! I was relieved and so glad to hear one of my favorites. I’m still humming that one this afternoon! For me, the show didn’t really get started until this one. I enjoyed most of the rest of the show, especially We Three Kings, Messengers of Christmas, Faeries, the medieval feast songs (the first half of the 2nd set), and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. I thought that Carol of the Bells would be my favorite, but I was a little disappointed in that one. I have heard so many versions of that song, but this one did not rank among my favorites. Carol of the Bells was the last song of the regular show, so I was happy to not end on a disappointing note when they played 3 encore songs.
The visuals were interesting and often bizarre. The combination of video and lights (and video with the band in the background) was definitely entertaining at times. Sometimes the effects were just weird, like the angels near the end. They were more scary than beautiful or inspiring if you ask me! The visuals did make me snicker at times, though I felt like much of the audience wasn’t appreciating the little gags. They had a lot of little “jokes” throughout the show, but not many were laughing (which is probably to be expected).
I had a great time at the show. Admittedly, I was already in the Christmas mood since we put our tree up early this year, and I’ve been listening to Christmas music for over a week. The show made me happy, both for seeing the music live and for my annual Christmas date with Audrey!
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December 3rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
My Wife and I saw this concert as well (up in front, which was hard on our necks to watch the screens) but I must say I was disappointed that they split the band in two and had two traveling groups.
Based on the list of Bandmembers on a DVD from several years ago as well as the Concert we saw a few years ago, most of the “Original” band members were touring with the Midwest Group.
Also, the concert a few years ago, in the RBC Center, was an amazing affair with a larger supporting Band as well as a complete replica of a village in front of the stage with a model train running around it. People who brought their children could walk around and look at the village before the show started.
Not sure I will see them again if they do this “Split Tour” format again. Seemed more of a stunt for profit with the East Coast fans getting all noobies except for the Conductor and Bassist/Guitarist.