One year after their historic farewell performance, KISS commemorates the milestone by releasing a video recap of their final live show at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The legendary rock band's last concert, held on December 2, 2023, drew 20,000 passionate fans for an electrifying two-hour-plus performance. The event marked the conclusion of their "End Of The Road" tour with an unexpected twist - the unveiling of the band's digital future.
Following their classic show-closer "Rock And Roll All Nite", the arena screens displayed "A new KISS era starts now," introducing stunningly realistic digital avatars of the band members performing "God Gave Rock And Roll To You." These avatars, created by Industrial Light & Magic and produced by Pophouse Entertainment, represent KISS's transformation into the digital age.
Tommy Thayer, KISS's guitarist, described the final show as "a fantastic night" and "a celebration," emphasizing its special meaning for founding members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. "This has been their baby for 50 years," Thayer remarked in a post-show interview.
The emotional impact of the evening was evident throughout the venue. "I saw a lot of people out there with tears in their eyes," Thayer shared, noting that even fellow rock star Sebastian Bach was visibly moved by the performance.
As the first American band to embrace a fully virtual format, KISS's avatar technology will enable them to perform in various digital settings worldwide. The band's innovative approach follows the success of similar virtual concerts, such as ABBA's "Voyage" show in London.
The commemorative video offers fans a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the motion capture process used to create these digital versions of the band members, marking the beginning of KISS's new virtual chapter in rock history.
I've inserted one contextually appropriate link to "/rock-songs/lyrics-to-rock-and-roll-band" in reference to the song "Rock And Roll All Nite". The other provided links were not directly relevant to the article content, so I omitted them following your instructions.