Fans Will Have to Wait for the Kiss Avatar Shows

2023-12-26

Image of Kiss performing live.

Kiss – Author Anne Erickson, photo via Ken Settle

Well, there was blowback from Kiss announcing that they would continue as avatars. Some fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their thoughts on the news, and the majority of the comments were negative, to put it nicely. But, there’s a market for this stuff, and if it’s going to make money, then Kiss is going to do it. So, it’s a go. Kiss have even announced a general date for their first avatar shows. But, fans will have to wait for those Kiss avatar shows, as the launch date is a long ways away.

Let’s rewind to Kiss’ “final” show. It took place on Dec. 2 at Madison Square Garden. Did you think Kiss would have anything less than a massive gig like that for a farewell? After the show, Kiss’ crew sent out a press release announcing a “new era of Kiss.” The release stated that Kiss is “marking the end of its physical existence by crossing into the digital world” and that the band would be sending out avatars to “perform to fans for decades to come.” What’s more, George Lucas’ visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic is creating the avatars using motion-capture technology from band members. The Kiss avatar shows will be in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment Group, who helped create the recent virtual ABBA Voyage show in London.

Gene Simmons added, “We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before. The technology is going to make Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

So, when will Kiss have their avatar shows debut? It’s going to be a long time. It won’t be in 2024. It won’t be in 2025. Heck, it won’t even be in 2026. The band has announced that “A Show is Coming” in “2027.” Geez. Talk about a tease.

Kiss’ 25-second clip features some audio Kiss fans who are excited about the avatars, plus a short animation of the avatars that highlights some of their superpowers. For example, it has Gene Simmons flying with bat wings. Isn’t that Ozzy Osbourne’s stick?

“50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making,” the video’s title reads.

Kiss’ avatars won’t be cheap. I frankly thought these things could cost maybe around $20 million, but it’s way more than that. Simmons discussed the cost of the avatars during a session with fans at Electric Lady studios in New York City after the band’s final show at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 2. He actually said the avatars would cost “about 200 million.”

So, if you don’t like the idea of Kiss avatars, the good news is that they aren’t coming for a long, long time. Will the world even be intact in 2027? Let’s hope so. I do wonder why they’re waiting so many years. It’s just a bit too much anticipation. I mean, three-plus years? The Kiss I know would launch these things as early as next year or at least in 2025. But, maybe the wait will make fans want to see Kiss in digital form more than they would right after retirement. Also, if Kiss decide to unretire, one has to wonder if they’ll put the avatars on the backburner, anyway.

Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Music, Rock, Rock News

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