Though Kiss finished their four-year farewell tour last week, the iconic rockers ended their final show with a spectacle that previewed the band’s future: digital avatars.
After the final song of the set was played (Rock and Roll All Nite), and the band disappeared in a shower of smoke and pyrotechnics, the giant backlit screen illuminated to show the four band members depicted as larger-than-life fantasy figures. “Kiss army!” bellowed frontman Paul Stanley, referring to the band’s fanatic fan base. “Your love, your power, has made us immortal. The new Kiss era starts now. Oh yeah!”
The avatars then performed the song ‘God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II’ before fading to the words “A NEW ERA BEGINS.”
In a behind-the-scenes video posted by Kiss detailing the work turning the foursome into avatars, Stanley says, “The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are.”
Axl Rose has thrown his last mic
Pophouse Entertainment Group, a Swedish company behind the digital avatar performances of the band ABBA, stated in a press release that they are creating avatar performances so that Kiss may continue to entertain fans at live shows “for decades to come.” The press release states that the avatars were created by George Lucas-founded visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic.
“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” commented founding member Gene Simmons in the release. “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
As Bloomberg has reported that the ABBA avatar concerts are making $2 million a week, it should be safe to say that any upcoming Kiss “live” shows should do just fine, even without the actual band members on stage.
