The legendary rocker’s long goodbye kiss was finally sealed Saturday night with an electrifying concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden, so close to where it all began.
It’s never over until it’s over, it seems these days, and cutting-edge new technology means, for legendary rockers Kiss, that time may never come.
The American band reunited for a final farewell this weekend by performing two “End of the Road” concerts at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden.
Their journey began 50 years ago, when four young New Yorkers lugged their guitars, amps and drums into a loft on 23rd Street, dreaming of becoming the biggest band in the world.
Although the question will forever remain whether they achieved this ambition, there is no doubt that Kiss easily became one of the most recognizable bands in the world thanks to a fantastic fusion of eccentric, glamorous visuals and a piercing sound.
Each member adopted a specific stage identity: Simmons the Demon; Stanley the Star Child; guitarist Ace Frehley, the spaceman, and drummer Peter Criss, the catman. The band honed their act with small club gigs and, on New Year’s Eve, landed an opening act with Blue Öyster Cult. Simmons accidentally set his hair on fire that night while breathing fire. (This happened several times over the years, to the point where they would post a roadie with a soaked towel nearby.)
Who wants to live forever?
Today’s health and safety regulations, and perhaps the advancing age of the original members, may have put an end to the earlier histrionics, but the show looks set to continue in the digital sphere/ the metaverse/virtual world – take your pick.
During their encore, the band left the stage to reveal their digital avatars. After the transformation, the virtual kisser launched into a performance of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.”
The avatars were created by George Lucas’ special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment Group, the latter co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus. The two companies recently teamed up for the “ABBA Voyage” show in London, where fans were treated to a full concert by the Swedish band, performed by their digital avatars.
Experimentation with this type of technology has become increasingly common in certain sectors of the music industry. In October, K-pop star Mark Tuan teamed up with Soul Machines to create an autonomously automated “digital twin” called “Digital Mark.” In doing so, Tuan became the first celebrity to associate their image with OpenAI’s GPT integration, an artificial intelligence technology that allows fans to engage in one-on-one conversations with Tuan’s avatar.
“What we have accomplished is incredible, but it is not enough. The band deserves to live because it’s bigger than us,” Kiss frontman Paul Stanley said during a roundtable interview. “It’s exciting for us to take the next step and see Kiss immortalized. »
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” added Kiss bassist Gene Simmons. “Technology will allow Paul to jump higher than he ever has before. »
2023-12-04 05:49:54
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