Mannheim Steamroller Makes This Christmas Perky and Bright

Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller is a master showman, a humble wizard of fancy lighting and flashy set decoration. That tends to push his slick “Fresh Aire” sound schemes into the background--an appropriate place for his blend of pop and light classical elements. The Steamroller makes happy music of little depth, and only passing charm.

At the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim on Tuesday, the Steamroller performed a Christmas concert with the help of additional string and horn sections. But for all the showy musical flourishes, there was little to challenge the ears. The group’s holiday show was inevitably a more musically conservative operation than a typical performance of Handel’s ancient “Messiah.”

Mannheim Steamroller has nonetheless captured an audience hungry for feel-good holiday music, selling an astonishing 18 million Christmas albums in the last decade and a half.

The Tuesday concert was a well-organized family affair, with children’s choirs singing carols in the lobby while fans were greeted by snowmen, elves and other characters. On stage, the musicians performed a mix of carols and Steamroller originals as artificial snow fell from the rafters.

The stage was dominated by three huge video screens, flashing scenes from nature, home movies and ice skaters from an upcoming Steamroller TV special. The videos rarely stopped, leaving the odd sensation of watching a television program with a relentlessly perky soundtrack.