I just got around to (as well as being aware of, as I somehow completely missed the news when it was announced) exploring Melody VR as it is currently available on the Oculus Go and Gear VR headsets. I had been keeping my eye on Next VR for concert presentations in virtual reality given their existing NBA League games broadcasts that put you court side and occasion live concert broadcasts. Thus far, none of their concert broadcasts have been made on-demand and only an assortment of backstage experiences are up as such. Everything is presented with a 180 degree view from your "seat" in stereoscopic vision. Given that VR technology is at relatively early stage of development, the equipment such as the cameras and headsets have their limitations. I came into the VR world fairly early and have seen the improvements that have come along, particularly with video, to know that the future for this is extremely exciting. Currently, the best way to describe the image quality we can get is being quite near-sighted.

MelodyVR came to my attention this past week while researching further into the Oculus Go I received as a gift for Christmas. I've been a GearVR owner since the first headset released in 2015. At the time, NextVR was already in place with a Coldplay concert clip being one of the promotional clips included with the headset. I've never been a fan of the band, but something about being in the front row of their show next to fans going wild just sucked me right in as it would being at any live show with good energy, if for just a few minutes. Despite that, the full show has yet to be released 4 years later and no actual live performances from any band are available on their app. The mentions of Melody VR also came with complaints of "poor quality video" and "2D presentation, so I didn't immediately think much of it.. until I saw that they had the entire KISS concert at the O2 from 2017 with 8 "jump spots." https://melodyvr.com/performance/kiss/

Melody VR has a library of complete concerts from a variety of artists all on demand with The Who being one of KISS' peers on tap. Yes, these are in 2D and with a quite near-sighted presentation, but in 360 degrees. They are also a glimpse into the future. Right off, I can say we have come a ways since 4 years ago where it was quite standard to notice the stitching effect between multiple cameras. You would look around your environment, be it a city street in NYC or somewhere in Japan, and notice a warped area in the image. These have been completely done away with, leaving the lack of 2D and greater image clarity to be dealt with.

The 8 jump spots let you choose where you want to view the show from. My two obvious favorites are right in front of Paul or Gene's mics, which I switch between depending on the song. These vantage points are close enough see them clearly as well as the rest of the stage. Despite all of the current limitations of the technology, it's very easy to get swept up into the excitement of being at an actual KISS concert. It's a trip to be standing on stage in front of Paul watching him do his thing, strutting around on stage, wielding his guitar in that Paul Stanley way.

Being able to watch the audience is a huge part of what makes the experience what it is. It simultaneously reminds you how going to the actual show will never be replaced by virtual reality, but being able to be among them virtually drives the excitement of the experience that no filmed concert can capture the same way. I switched to the jump spot over by Paul's secondary stage for Psycho Circus and Black Diamond to try and get a better look, but given that his back is to you for a lot of it and is just a bit too far, I turned around and watched the main stage instead where I could see the video screens to be able to see Paul's face. I wound up watching a girl sing every word of Psycho Circus and took notice of others doing the same. During Black Diamond, I noticed two 20-30s year old guys going ape shit, as if their prayers had been delivered. It took me back to a time when the song was fresh and I thought it was one of the most incredible epics I'd ever heard. It reminded me why I fell in love with this band.. a band that is about to embark on their last tour.

That last point makes me grateful that their show has been captured virtually in some way thus far. I have always fantasized, since the days of Star Trek - The Next Generation's holodeck, of being able to put myself in any concert from history as if I were actually at the show... be it back at Cobo Hall in 1975, 1984, or The Palace in 1990. The reality of being able to present such an experience is pretty far-fetched today, requiring technology we don't currently have, but we can capture the band today as they are and come very close to that holodeck experience.

MedodyVR seems very aware of the limitations of the current technology and are dedicated to seeing it evolve to a point where we are experiencing these concerts with sharp and stereoscopic images that further immerse us in these shows. I certainly hope the coming "End of the Road" shows are captured using the most advanced VR capture equipment available so that we are able to call upon those last shows to re-experience them again and again, choosing different seats each time.