Roy Orbison Hologram Concert in LA

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 7 Oct 2018 3:40 pm

http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywo ... story.html

In the darkened Wiltern theater in Los Angeles, hundreds of people couldn’t wait to see legendary rocker Roy Orbison. A live orchestra pumped up the crowd with a medley of his hits. Old photos of him flashed across a giant screen.

Then, the crooner appeared to rise magically from the stage, wearing his signature light grey suit, black shades and jamming on a red Gibson guitar to his 1960 hit “Only the Lonely.” Fans screamed as they quickly positioned their smartphones to record the spectral image.

“This is as good as seeing him in person as you’ll ever get,” marveled 71-year-old Ray Sadowski, who paid about $200 for a pair of tickets to the Tuesday night show.

Thirty years after his death, Orbison (at least the digital version of him) is going on a national tour, the latest and possibly the most ambitious example to date of how holographic technology is transforming the music industry. The hologram’s 65-minute show, which features 16 songs and orchestral accompaniment, is among the first full-length concerts to feature a holographic dead singer....

gary pierce · Post by **gary pierce** » 7 Oct 2018 4:16 pm

That is so cool.

Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 8 Oct 2018 4:38 am

If they can't get him to dance with a vacuum cleaner, why bother?

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Oct 2018 7:04 am

Good one, Jon..

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 8 Oct 2018 7:23 am

Sorry, tribute bands. You’re toast.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 8 Oct 2018 7:27 am

Fred Treece wrote:Sorry, tribute bands. Youâ€™re toast.

I know, right?

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 8 Oct 2018 10:24 am

I think the holographic trend, as well as the long-standing trend of tribute bands, says more about what's going on in music now versus 40+ years ago than anything else. And as far as holographics goes, there's the fact that, at this point, music is more about visuals than anything else.

I see well-done tribute bands in a basically positive light - real musicians playing stuff they and their audiences love in real time. But I see the holographic thing as basically negative. It turns the music many of us love into even more of a soul-less "commodity" to be exploited. Phony baloney. IMHO.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Oct 2018 6:16 pm

I see well-done tribute bands in a basically positive light - real musicians playing stuff they and their audiences love in real time. But I see the holographic thing as basically negative. It turns the music many of us love into even more of a soul-less "commodity" to be exploited. Phony baloney. IMHO.

Indeed, Dave.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 8 Oct 2018 8:44 pm

Barry Blackwood wrote:
I see well-done tribute bands in a basically positive light - real musicians playing stuff they and their audiences love in real time. But I see the holographic thing as basically negative. It turns the music many of us love into even more of a soul-less "commodity" to be exploited. Phony baloney. IMHO.
Indeed, Dave.

+1

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 17 Oct 2018 9:57 am

Seems kinda creepy to me.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 17 Oct 2018 10:34 am

I was walking by the TV my wife was watching the other night and there was a holographic speech by Ronald Reagan from, I believe, the Reagan Library. I thought they made him look like a ghost. And no political remarks, please. I'm talking about the production, not anything about the man himself.

Yes, it was the Reagan Library, here's some CNN footage: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/201 ... xp-vpx.hln

I guess this is the road things are going down. Whaddayagonnado?

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 17 Oct 2018 11:57 am

Doesn’t have to be just dead people. Bands will be able to record tour gigs at their home studio and send the holograms out into the world. Not a bad way to save on gas...

Larry Carlson · Post by **Larry Carlson** » 17 Oct 2018 3:01 pm

.
Next time I go the dentist I'm sending my hologram.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 23 Oct 2018 6:24 pm

Fred Treece wrote:Sorry, tribute bands. You’re toast.

Personally, I think $200 a ticket is a bit steep. If these "holo-shows" can't get their prices down to something more reasonable, they ain't gonna do much harm to the average tribute bands. I can see Zoso, The Atomic Punks, or Strutter for a fraction of that same $200.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 23 Oct 2018 7:11 pm

Donny Hinson wrote:
Fred Treece wrote:Sorry, tribute bands. You’re toast.
Personally, I think $200 a ticket is a bit steep. If these "holo-shows" can't get their prices down to something more reasonable, they ain't gonna do much harm to the average tribute bands. I can see Zoso, The Atomic Punks, or Strutter for a fraction of that same $200.

Donny, I think the holo idea is insane, not just the ticket price (which is for people who have more dollars than sense). Having spent a considerable time as a member of a tribute band, I hope you are right and I think you are.

Curt Trisko · Post by **Curt Trisko** » 24 Oct 2018 8:02 am

I don't see a problem with it. Sometimes an artist becomes something more to their fans than just the music that comes out of the speakers... their look, their mannerisms, the feelings and memories that people associate with them. Capturing those kinds of things is all-or-nothing. A dude wearing a Roy Orbison wig and contorting his voice to sound like him wouldn't do the trick. A hologram hits that nostalgia better than a tribute band.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 24 Oct 2018 8:42 am

Curt Trisko wrote:I don't see a problem with it. Sometimes an artist becomes something more to their fans than just the music that comes out of the speakers... their look, their mannerisms, the feelings and memories that people associate with them. Capturing those kinds of things is all-or-nothing. A dude wearing a Roy Orbison wig and contorting his voice to sound like him wouldn't do the trick. A hologram hits that nostalgia better than a tribute band.

If you have to try that hard, you are not going to make it as a tribute band anyway.

Curt Trisko · Post by **Curt Trisko** » 24 Oct 2018 9:00 am

Fred Treece wrote: If you have to try that hard, you are not going to make it as a tribute band anyway.

I don't know what that means in response to what I said.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 24 Oct 2018 9:22 am

Curt Trisko wrote: A dude wearing a Roy Orbison wig and contorting his voice to sound like him wouldn't do the trick.

This is the reference. I should have been more specific with the quote, sorry.

I also disagree with the “hologram hits the nostalgia button better than a tribute band” portion of your comment, but that is a matter of opinion that has already been addressed here.

In fact, maybe tribute bands and holo-concerts are apples and oranges. One is a true live production, the other is a recorded image, albeit with a live band. They are both novelties, but of a different sort. The holo-concert is just the new kid in town.

This type of production probably won’t go away any time soon. As I mentioned earlier, you don’t even have to be dead to go on tour as a hologram. Wait till live singers start harmonizing with their own interactive holograms...

Curt Trisko · Post by **Curt Trisko** » 24 Oct 2018 9:32 am

Fred Treece wrote:I also disagree with the â€œhologram hits the nostalgia button better than a tribute bandâ€ portion of your comment, but that is a matter of opinion that has already been addressed here.

In fact, maybe tribute bands and holo-concerts are apples and oranges. One is a true live production, the other is a recorded image, albeit with a live band. They are both novelties, but of a different sort. The holo-concert is just the new kid in town.

I agree that they're apples and oranges. I guess a different way to say what I meant is that if the audience experience you're trying to create is the deeply personal connection with the artist, a hologram is probably more effective. If the audience experience that you're trying to create is to celebrate the artist's music and the scene surrounding them, then a tribute band is more effective.

Think of it this way, which would be more a emotionally effective representation of your significant other - a hologram of them or a stranger impersonating them?

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 24 Oct 2018 10:01 am

Curt Trisko wrote:[Think of it this way, which would be more a emotionally effective representation of your significant other - a hologram of them or a stranger impersonating them?

Yikes! That is an entirely different sack of potatoes! And I plead the 5th, on the very outside chance she ever sees this....

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 24 Oct 2018 10:17 am

Dave Mudgett wrote:I guess this is the road things are going down. Whaddayagonnado?

Hmmm....drinking more heavily is a strong possibility. Narcotics are in the conversation.

By how much would computing power have to increase such that one would not recognize it as a hologram?

I suppose we could already be there and I just haven't caught on.

Come to think of it, that might explain a lot of what I see on the tube. I admit to desperately needing an explanation. Been looking for 40 plus years.

Sounds quite useful, politically. Looking forward to it.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 24 Oct 2018 12:41 pm

Way creepy!

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 24 Oct 2018 7:12 pm

i will be playing guitar in this show when it comes to atlanta. all the contractor asked is that my acoustic and electric guitar be a very dark color. im going to take some black paper and cover the front of my acoustic. it has a pickup in it so it wont matter. i will report if its creepy or not.

found this on yt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVkM3Lg5ICE

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Dec 2018 8:01 am

I watched the clip Bill posted, and all was well...until those backing voices came in. Personally, I thought the octave-higher voices of the ladies' "dum-dum-dums" took away a lot from the feel and sound of the original release; the version we older listeners cherish and remember. I dunno, maybe that's just me? I do know it's a curse to remember and expect all the same exact arrangements and sounds of the originals when they're redone by a modern-day outfit. But some tribute bands do that very well.

Still, I'm glad Bill got the gig, and I'm looking forward to hearing his views on it.