Lady Gaga will not be gracing South By Southwest’s giant Dorito vending machine with subtle, artistic presence. The City Of Austin, Texas has turned down a permit request made by Doritos or Gaga or whoever runs the stage, saying that the Italian restaurant parking lot that holds the giant stage/vending machine just didn’t gibe with “anticipated attendance, based on event capacity and promotion.” In other words, trying to fit 50,000 drunk little monsters into a square, concrete space meant to hold cars didn’t seem like the greatest idea. The dream’s not dead, though: The city says it would “support relocation to an established venue with the necessary permanent infrastructure,” though most existing venues don’t look like goddamn giant vending machines.
Last year, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, and Public Enemy played the Doritos Stage.