Image via Complex Original
Despite all the amazing sets performed by living acts at Coachella 2012 this weekend, the one thing people can’t stop talking about is 2Pac’s unforgettable appearance alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Makaveli proved all the crackpots right and finally returned from the dead appeared via hologram technology and put on a surprisingly lifelike show. And you thought Rock The Bells was the ultimate in rap nostalgia?
Although Pac did look kinda like a Grand Theft Auto character, we can’t deny getting goosebumps while watching Shakur's ghostly image perform “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” alongside his living, breathing homie Snoop Dogg.
Will.i.am may have gotten clowned for his ridiculous hologram appearance on CNN a few years back, but Pac’s posthumous performance was so dope the enterprising minds at Complex already know exactly what’s going to happen next: Holograms will soon be to concerts what 3D is to movies.
Just like how James Cameron decided to get his paper up by re-releasing Titanic 3D a few weeks back, concert promoters will soon be recreating legendary concerts in order to dig in the pockets of all the people who ever said, “I wish I had been there.” That's why we put together this list of magical musical moments that are sure to recreated using holograms asap. Matter of fact, you might as well get on line for tickets now...
Written by Insaul Ahmed (@Incilin)
Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged in New York
Original date: November 18, 1993
Nirvana’s Unplugged performance is the stuff of legend because Kurt Cobain—the last true rock star to grace this planet—is so naked and his pain is so obvious. Although the performance took place a few months before Cobain committed suicide, it wasn’t released until after his death, which only made it all the more haunting.
MTV recently brought their Unplugged series back with Florence + The Machine which was great, but Kurt Cobain is Kurt Cobain. Best part is, we’re guessing Courtney Love probably owns whatever life rights you need to get a Cobain hologram popping—and we all know she's down for whatever. Why watch the video when you can catch the hologram live?
The Notorious B.I.G.’s Madison Square Garden Freestyle
Original date: 1994
We've got a feeling Diddy started doing the #BirdmanHandrub while watching 2Pac’s hologram performance. With all that Ciroc money, you'd best believe Sean Combs can afford the technology to launch Life After Death 2.0. Plus the mere thought of bringing Biggie back via hologram would bring a tear cartoon dollar signs to any concert promoter's eye.
And what better performance to recreate than Biggie’s legendary MSG freestyle? Can you imagine how nuts the building would go as soon as the words, “Where Brooklyn at? Where Brooklyn at?” started blasting through the speakers? Bonus points for bringing Tupac back one more time to do his part of the freestyle. Not only would people jump out of their seats, we’re pretty sure a bunch of fans would get jumped after the show just because.
Jimi Hendrix Performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” At Woodstock
Original date: August 17, 1969
Contemporary culture is infused with nostalgia. One author referred to it as “retromania” and in Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris one character describes it as, “Golden age thinking—the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one one's living in.”
Maybe it’s because the aughts sucked so much (9/11, Katrina, Maroon 5) but we spend so much time these days talking about gadgets from the ‘90s and the hippie culture of the ‘60s that we’re beginning to think more people would show up to a recreation of the original 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair than they would to the latest staging of Coachella.
And when they do recreate Woodstock—and trust us they will—the hologram version of Jimi Hendrix rocking out on his upside-down Stratocaster will be the main attraction, since he’s still one of the most famous rock stars in the world. It may be straining the limits of good taste to cash in on his memory this way, but at least it will be 1000 times better than that corny-ass Woodstock ‘99.
The Beatles At Shea Stadium
Original date: August 15, 1965
Whether it be through snooping through their parents vinyls or Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album, new generations of fans are still getting hip to the The Beatles. Nearly 50 years after the birth of Beatlemania, when their music was first being sold on iTunes, Apple actually ran ads promoting the very idea of being able to sell the Beatles music that was already available for free on the Internet.
Sadly, two of the four members of the band—John Lennon and George Harrison—are no longer with us. But thanks to hologram technology we can finally get the band back together! Best of all, the show can be sponsored by Mad Men and they can just run this clip over and over in promotion for the show. Also, the Mets could totally use some extra cash. [Sally Draper screams.]
Bob Marley & The One Love Peace Concert
Original date: April 22, 1978
The One Love Peace Concert was unlike any show that's ever gone down in the States because of its political impact. In 1978, Jamaica was in the midst of a bloody civil war between the Jamaican Labour Party and the People's National Party.
Frustrated by all the bloodshed, Bob Marley heroically united the warring factions when, during his performance of "Jammin," he actually got the leaders of each rival party, Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP), to join hands onstage.
Although Jamaica is still afflicted with violence, we just wanna jam out with Bob's hologram and not worry about getting shot over who we're voting for. If there is a Marley hologram, hopefully it can be beamed up to Amsterdam or Humboldt County or somewhere irie like that.