Column: The future of concert going

At Coachella Music Festival, a not-so-typical musical guest made an appearance with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. It was so atypical that the guest did not actually appear in
the flesh.

Instead, there was a 2-D “hologram” projection of the deceased hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur. Not only did he perform at Coachella, but there are also rumors now that a full-fledged tour might arise.

Tupac’s “performance” is not the first hologram to make it to the stage. In 2006, Gorillaz performed as their cartoon personas with Madonna through projection
technology.

It is no surprise that Japan, a country known for their anime culture, has Hatsune Miku, a projected anime singer that has “performed” live a handful of times. Yet there is a distinct difference between Coachella’s Tupac performance and those of Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku. The Gorillaz and Miku are cartoon characters depicted as cartoons onstage, whereas Tupac was a living man being “brought back to life” in this
performance.

The hologram Tupac came on stage at Coachella and said “What the fuck is up, Coachella?” — a sentence that, considering Coachella’s first concert was created after his death, the living Tupac never said.

A simple, previously unspoken sentence such as that is the beginning of how I find the hologram unnerving.

Tupac’s life and death deeply influenced hip-hop, and the culture surrounding whether he actually died remains a pop-culture topic 15 years after he was shot. Therefore, having him perform is not only marketable but also emotional for fans. Some fans may see the “resurrection” as a chance to see their beloved icon.

That leaves people wondering, who’s next on the list? Will they “bring back” Elvis, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain? With this in mind, you have to reevaluate why people go to concerts.

Concert going is primarily to see the musician perform live. This means hearing the grittiness of their music without the equipment of the studio, seeing their sweat as their energy propels their music on stage and experiencing their interactions with the audience. Though a hologram brings forth some of these elements, it does not match the experiences that a living person is capable of creating on stage. However, a concert is about the audience, as well as the performer.

Listening to music in your bedroom alone is extremely different from hearing it live.
Regardless of what genre, the experience is different. The energy of a crowd is one of the most irreplaceable feelings of excitement one can experience while listening to music. This is where I understand how Tupac’s hologram could be a new phenomenon. People do not necessarily go to see the hologram — although that technology is phenomenal — they also go to express their love for music with the only other people who understand it: the fans.

This pro/con list that I continue to flip-flop between still seems to lean toward the cons of Tupac’s hologram. It all comes back to the fact that Tupac’s hologram is of a
deceased man.

If you watch the performance, you’ll see Snoop Dogg clearly confused as to how he should interact with “Tupac.”

Although this performance might be a feat for technology, I do not believe holograms of a deceased artist have a place in concerts.

­— bfinkel@indiana.edu