Lady Gaga just can’t catch a break.
First, she was “betrayed” by her inner circle during the lead-up to the ARTPOP album, then, that album failed to match the lofty sales figures of its predecessors. And now, she’s been double-crossed by the city of Austin, Texas … or, more specifically, its Music & Entertainment division.
According to local reports, the M&E division has denied a permit request for Gaga to perform inside a six-story vending machine at Doritos’ annual South By Southwest party, citing “public safety concerns.”
“As part of the review process, the applicant provides a talent list to the city team to review and we can adjust public resources as necessary,” Don Pitts, manager of the city’s Music & Entertainment division, told Austin360.com. “We look at the size and capacity of the location covered by the permit being sought, and how it fits with the anticipated attendance, based on event capacity and promotion. And the end of the day, it’s a parking lot.”
It is, indeed, a parking lot, one located adjacent to Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant on Fifth Street in downtown Austin. In previous years, Doritos has built a massive vending machine in the location and hosted SXSW shows by the likes of Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J, but this year, the fervor of the Little Monsters proved to be too great, and, unless the event is moved, Gaga won’t be taking the machine, er, stage.
“We informed the applicant that we would support relocation to an established venue with the necessary permanent infrastructure,” Pitts said.
The news must be doubly depressing for Gaga considering no one knew she was even going to be at SXSW, which kicks off March 11 … so while the cat’s out of the bag, without the necessary permits, it’s won’t be inside a giant vending machine.
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