Lady Gaga thwarted in her attempt to headline a giant Doritos vending machine

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.