Perry Farrell Is Building An Insane $100M Vegas Show With Holographic Porn And VR Pickpockets, Or Something

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Perry Farrell Is Building An Insane $100M Vegas Show With Holographic Porn And VR Pickpockets, Or Something

Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Perry Farrell, from Jane’s Addiction, has a pretty sterling record as a promoter of grand events. He is, after all, the founder of Lollapalooza — both in its original touring incarnation, which helped establish ideas about ’90s alt-rock, and in its second version, which remains one of our largest standalone music festival, even though Farrell himself might not like it that much anymore. But Farrell is really going for it with his latest project, an immersive Las Vegas experience that he’s calling Kind Heaven. The concept behind it isn’t easy to explain, but it involved holograms and virtual reality, and Farrell says that the idea came to him in a dream.

Forbes reports that Farrell, who has been working on Kind Heaven for the past few years, announced it at a Las Vegas press conference yesterday. Forbes describes Kind Heaven as “a one-of-a-kind immersive complex that will transport attendees into another world, taking them deep into a Southeast Asia-inspired fantasy that is a complete playground for the senses.” Construction on the $100 million project is beginning now, and Farrell invested some of his own money in it. It’s scheduled to open in May of next year.

Forbes talked to Farrell about the project, and he spoke about it in only the trippiest terms. Here’s how Farrell describes coming up with the idea:

The idea came from a very vivid dream. I saw Kind Heaven as a city from overhead as if I was a bird or an angel. I came down upon the city, landed on the city, watched a girl pickpocket someone who was passed out on the street, run away and there I was in this place.

Farrell adds that you won’t be pickpocketed, since you won’t need a wallet to be there. And he claims that “everything that you see, except for my wife, is for sale.”

The idea, at least as far as I can tell, is to recreate the experience of a grimy, vital, exciting urban music scene without any of the danger that would come along with something like that. Farrell again:

Even the alleyways might have some pickpocket who jumps over your head trying to escape the local police. So there’s never a moment that doesn’t fill your ears or your eyes or your palate. We have 40 stations to grab street food. All these spots will be sprinkled over the five stories, chance for teas, drinks, food, alcohol…

Even the story, the mythology, the music, our improvisational theater on a daily basis can come up with new scenes. So it’s episodic. Say you start out in August, you come, and by December there are new sounds or new storylines and it’s reflective of current events. And it’s constantly in production and in a constant state of creation. All the participants are in residence, so we’ll have a chance now to collaborate with other musicians, come up with unique content that no one’s ever seen before and maybe no one will ever again. The scene is changing. This immersive entertainment complex is where I’m betting people will want to come.

Farrell probably won’t be there in person most of the time, but he says, “My hologram might.” He’s hoping that his hologram will sing with hologram versions of people like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Jim Morrison. And while touring musicians will come through, Farrell doesn’t want them to be vital to the experience: “We’re trying to build something that is so powerful in the experience that you don’t need to say come here because Coldplay is playing.”

Also, this: “When I talked to you about the holograms I didn’t mean performance, I meant acting, like scenes. I don’t know if I’ll get to do this but it would be killer to have a holographic porn of myself.” When asked what the Perry Farrell porn hologram would be doing, Farrell says, “Having delightful sex, revving up the audience.”

Finally, the Last Vegas Review-Journal reports, “One venue will feature virtual monkeys that wrestle each other. Patrons can bet on which monkey will win for prizes.”

This sounds like a total fucking nightmare! Bring on musical Westworld!

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