Friday December 1st 2017

It is hard to believe December is already here. I spent the day doing a few errands. The great weather is back with temperatures peaking in the low 70s. The real event of the day took place after dark. After being here for over a month, I went to my first show of this visit to Las Vegas. It just another indicator that I’m in living mode, not vacation mode.

Mannheim Steamroller Christmas show at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

I went to a performance of Mannheim Steamroller at the Orleans Arena. The show started at 7:30 and didn’t get out until almost ten. The orchestra performed two one hour sets separated by a twenty minute intermission. The music was great. There are six featured performers that play multiple instruments. The two percussion instrument players also played wood instruments that appeared to be rather primitive. The violin player also played the recorder, so I know the percussion guys weren’t playing something even that sophisticated. The sole women in the featured group played the synthesizer and electronic harpsichord. The featured set also included a guitarist and a piano player. Hidden behind the main bandstand was a two man horn section and a five person string section.

Orchestra on stage with lighting effects and video screen behind them.

The production wasn’t very elaborate. For the most part the featured players stood or sat at their spot the whole show. There was no dancing or flair to the performance. They used lights in place of motion. There were strobes and spots in every direction. The other “feature” was a huge video screen behind the orchestra. It showed stock footage of space and space flight from NASA and stock footage of dolphins swimming in the ocean as well as specifically created video clips for the show. The orchestra played in perfect sync with all of the videos, but often the video was the focus of my attention not the orchestra.

Video screen turned off but color lights still in use.

Overall I enjoyed the performance. I had a great seat in the third row on the side of the arena about half way back. In the concert configuration the arena holds around 9000 people. It was a little over half full for this performance. This touring company performs in Palm Desert California tomorrow night.

The pictures in this blog entry were taken with my cell phone.