Mannheim rolls in for the holidays
On Tuesday, Mannheim Steamroller will make its third holiday appearance since 2001 at the Spokane Arena – which nearly qualifies it as a Spokane Christmastime tradition.
Mannheim Steamroller has been a nationwide Christmas tradition since its first holiday album in 1984. It has sold 25 million Christmas records and every year launches a top-grossing holiday tour.
This band – or should we say, this phenomenon – has become, by its own assertion, the biggest-selling Christmas artist of all time
This year’s “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” tour is similar to the previous multimedia extravaganzas, which means it will include:
•Mannheim Steamroller itself, the original New Age-Renaissance-rock band founded by Chip Davis.
•A 22-piece orchestra made up of local musicians.
•A 2,000-square-foot Victorian Christmas Village on the Arena floor.
•Strolling costumed characters.
The concert will feature songs from “Mannheim Steamroller: Christmas Song,” the group’s seventh Christmas CD. It includes such familiar and family-friendly numbers as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and several Davis originals inspired, he said, by his family.
The new CD’s title tune was chosen by Mannheim Steamroller fans as their favorite holiday song. The show will also include selections from the previous Christmas albums.
All of it will be performed with the signature Mannheim sound, which might be described as Renaissance-troubadour- meets-arena-rock. Lutes duel with synthesizers; strings harmonize with electric guitars.
Even if you don’t own a single Mannheim Steamroller CD, you’ve undoubtedly heard the music. It’s a staple of shopping center loudspeakers and those radio stations doing 24-hour Christmas music.
Davis said in a 2001 interview with The Spokesman-Review that he tries to “consciously respect the simplicity of each song and not junk it up.” He said that he “tries to let the song live through my arrangement.”
The show is half concert and half theme park. Snowmen and elves will be wandering around the hallways and the Christmas village before the show. People can bring cameras and take pictures of the snowmen with their kids.
“This is about family and memorable experiences for mom and dad, but especially for the kids,” Davis said in an interview with the S-R about the 2004 version of the show.