Hurricane Irene Forces NYC Concert Cancellations

Dave Matthews Band Caravan events, Afro-Punk Fest with Das Racist, final Summerstage show and many more succumb to approaching storm.
By Terri Schwartz


Hurricane Irene's western edges begin hitting the North Carolina coast
Photo: NOAA/National Hurricane Center

New Yorkers: Trade your earplugs for some frozen dinners and a couple seasons of your favorite TV show on DVD, because chances are the concert you bought tickets to this weekend has been canceled.

With Hurricane Irene tearing her way up the East Coast, many bands and venues that had shows planned in areas likely to be hit by the bad weather conditions are either rescheduling or canceling the gigs in anticipation of the storm. Forecasts are predicting the hurricane will affect states including South Carolina and Virginia and on all the way up to the eastern coast of Canada through Monday.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency, and the city's transit system will be completely suspended beginning at noon on Saturday, which is having a direct impact on previously scheduled NYC concerts. A spokesperson for the Bowery Presents confirmed to MTV News that the Dave Matthews Band Caravan events at Governors Island on Saturday and Sunday have been postponed. New dates have not been announced, but ticketholders are being encouraged to attend the event on Friday (August 26) instead.

Of course, it's also unclear whether bands that were set to play alongside DMB at this weekend's concerts will be around to perform at a later date. The Roots were supposed to perform Saturday, and Gogol Bordello were slated to perform Sunday.

The Afro-Punk Fest was also a casualty of Governor Cuomo rescinding all event permits for the weekend. "The Afro-Punk festival has been barred from holding any public assembly in Commodore Barry Park this weekend. Afro-Punk staff have been meeting with officials and sponsors to try and avoid cancellation but have had to cancel this weekend's festival due to safety concerns," the festival planners said in a statement. "The event organizers are regrouping to plan the next steps and will keep the public updated."

Himanshu Suri of Das Racist, who was to perform at the festival, apologized to his fans over Twitter and said he might fly out to St. Louis early to avoid missing that gig as well. Fellow Afro-Punk performer Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi similarly apologized in a tweet.

Fans planning to see ZZ Top perform in Westbury, New York, on Sunday are in luck, because the show has only been delayed until Monday, August 29, Pollstar is reporting. But fans that can't make the new date will be refunded; the same goes for ticketholders who planned to attend Saturday's now-canceled Bill Medley with Paul Revere & the Raiders concert.

The last of the free Central Park Summerstage shows this season, set for Sunday, has been rescheduled. Jagged Edge, Avant and Melanie Fiona will perform on September 21 instead, according to Brooklyn Vegan.

On Thursday, the Museum of Modern Art's PS1 announced on Twitter that their Saturday night Warm Up outdoor music series would go on in spite of the forecast. But on Friday afternoon, they tweeted a follow-up, saying, "Sadly, we have to cancel."

At press time, many Broadway shows were set to go on, though Entertainment Weekly reported that all Saturday and Sunday performances of "The Lion King" and "Mary Poppins" have been canceled.

Many events are being canceled and rescheduled outside of the New York area, as well. Journey's concert at Jiffy Lube Live on Sunday has been postponed to September 4, MTV News confirmed with a Live Nation spokesperson. As a result of the date change, Foreigner will be unavailable to perform on the new date. (All tickets will be honored on the new date.) Unfortunately, fans planning to attend Saturday's Silopanna Music Festival in Crownsville, Maryland, are out of luck, because the festival has been canceled and won't be rescheduled, according to Pollstar. (Refunds are being issued at points of purchase.)

Kenny Chesney's Sunday concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, has been moved up to Friday (August 26), the country singer announced on his website.

The Boston Herald is reporting that Sunday's Rockstar Energy Drink UPROAR Festival show at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, has been moved back two days to August 30. And the Essex Music Festival in Essex, Massachusetts, has been rescheduled to September 3, The Gloucester Times said.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1669768/nyc-hurricane-irene.jhtml

Kim Kardashian Kim Smith Kim Yoon jin Kirsten Dunst Krista Allen

Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez Nude Statue: What Does It Mean?

'Teenage celebrities [are] exploited early, earlier than what is legal, and the media fuels that,' artist Daniel Edwards tells MTV News.
By Jocelyn Vena


Daniel Edwards' "Justin and Selena as One" sculpture
Photo: Daniel Edwards/ Cory Allen Contemporary Art

The Internet was abuzz this week when controversial artist Daniel Edwards released his latest piece of art: a nude statue of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez with the words "Justin & Selena Forever" inscribed at the base of the statue.

The bronze statue, called "Justin and Selena as One," plays on the idea of Adam and Eve, with Bieber wearing a strategically placed maple leaf and Gomez wearing a strategically placed Texas Lone Star — references to Justin's native Canada and Selena's home state. But Edwards told MTV News the images aren't meant to be provocative for the sake of being provocative.

"Really, can you think of any teenage couple that's bigger or been bigger than them? Also, for my point of view, when I look at it, there's a lot of interesting components to it," he said of the piece, which will be on display at Dallas' New Fine Arts. "That was pretty much the obvious point of entry. She is 19, so that takes away a little bit of the edge, I think, but the fact that he's 17, that was totally the point of it.

"I tried to find my entry into making a comment on that very thing that happens time and again to teenage celebrities, where they're kind of exploited early, earlier than what is legal, and the media fuels that as best they can," he continued. "I guess I'm making my commentary about that particular thing that happens."

The statue also comments on the "double standard" for males and females in the industry. "It only seems to hit the young ladies a lot worse than the men. It's still there. You see all those beach photos of the two of them. My children are young, but I think I would be freaked out if I saw images of them like that on the Internet," he said, noting that being a father definitely informs his work.

"If I hadn't had kids, I think the work would be a lot more provocative, visually," he said. "But with kids, I always have to make sure it's something I'm comfortable with them seeing. There's a certain line I'm not willing to cross with my kids in the house."

Of all the ways to portray the two teen superstars, Edwards felt that the biblical reference was the perfect way to make his commentary work. "It's not for the sake of presenting religion. ... I think it's mostly because, from an art-history standpoint, a young couple is always Adam and Eve," he said. "And so I always try to position my work in historical reference. ... It's a way of giving it a bit of a historical context."

What do you think of the statue? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668791/justin-bieber-selena-gomez-nude-statue.jhtml

Nikki Cox Nikki Reed Norah Jones Noureen DeWulf Olivia Munn

Bruno Mars Says VMA Win Would Be 'Coolest Thing Ever'

'The Lazy Song' clip is up against Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and LMFAO for Best Choreography.
By Jocelyn Vena


Bruno Mars
Photo: MTV News

Bruno Mars' heartfelt clip for "Grenade" is up for three Moonmen at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards: Video of the Year, Best Male Video and Best Pop Video. He's obviously very excited by these three nods, but it's his fourth that really gets "The Lazy Song" singer going.

He can't wait to see if he can beat out Beyoncé ("Run the World (Girls)"), Britney Spears ("Till the World Ends"), Lady Gaga ("Judas") and LMFAO ("Party Rock Anthem") for Best Choreography for his track about just wanting to stay home and chill out.

"You know what I'm excited for? As much as I put blood, sweat and tears into 'Grenade,' I'm excited for 'The Lazy Song,' Best Choreography," he dished to MTV News. "That is amazing."

In the video, Bruno is captured hanging out at home, dancing around his living room and monkeying around with a few, well, monkeys. "I called up my friends the Poreotics [from 'America's Best Dance Crew'] and we shot this and choreographed this in one day," he recalled of the fun video. "And I think that would be the coolest thing ever if I went home and saw a Moonman that said: Best Choreography, Bruno Mars, 'The Lazy Song.' "

As silly and ironic as it seems for the singer to win the award for that track, he did put a lot of the same "blood, sweat and tears" into it as he did for "Grenade." "We worked really hard on it, and we wanted to give people something to laugh at and show personality in the song and what we're talking about," he said. " 'The Lazy Song' is not necessarily the song you want to hear in the club, but we put our monkey dance to it."

The 28th annual will air live on Sunday, August 28, from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for your favorites in the general categories by visiting VMA.MTV.com.

Related Photos Related Artists

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1668478/bruno-mars-the-lazy-song-vma.jhtml

Lisa Snowdon Liz Phair Lokelani McMichael Lori Heuring Lorri Bagley

Roseanne Barr Running for President?

Roseanne Barr Running for President?

The 2012 presidential race just got a little bit more interesting or, perhaps we should say, "nuttier." On Thursday night, Roseanne Barr -- who's currently starring on the Lifetime reality show Roseanne's Nuts -- announced on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that she'll be supporting a new candidate in the 2012 election: herself.

"You know Jay, I decided that since you're the one that got Arnold Schwarzenegger elected as governor of California, that I wanted to make my announcement here on your show because I really wanted to ask for your support," the 58-year-old comedian said. "My announcement is that I am running for president of the United States." Watch Barr's interview below!
 

Right after that announcement, Barr quipped, "... and also prime minister of Israel. It's a twofer."

But Barr insists she isn't joking about a presidential bid. "I'm totally serious because I want to be part of the debates because I want to represent the taxpayers," she told Leno. "In fact, I'm choosing the taxpayers as my vice president." And if she's not allowed to take part in the debates? "I'll Photoshop myself in," Bar joked.

When Leno asked whether she would be running under the Democratic or the Republican ticket, Barr replied: "I'm not for either party because they both suck and they're both a bunch of criminals. So I made up my own party. It's America's Green Tea Party.”

Barr currently lives on a 40-acre nut farm on Hawaii’s Big Island with her boyfriend Johnny Argent, and is starring in a Lifetime Television reality series about her life on the nut farm called Roseanne's Nuts. When Leno asked her if living with a man without being married might hurt her chances in the upcoming Presidential race, Barr said, "I don't believe in marriage anymore."

What will be Roseanne's campaign promises? No more taxes, all student loans and all debts will be forgiven, marijuana will be legalized, and money itself will be abolished. "Everything will be based on barter and growing and eating vegetables," the presidential hopeful declared.

Leno held up various bumper stickers Barr had brought along with her, with slogans such as "Isn't it time we had a President with some nuts?" and "Finally a President who can't get the maid pregnant," a clear reference to Schwarzenegger's love-child scandal.

Barr said that it was former vice presidential candidate and potential 2012 presidential hopeful Sarah Palin who inspired her to do a reality show and run for president. "I have feral pigs that overrun my farm and I'd like to shoot them out of a helicopter. That's what got me to thinking that I too should run for president if she can," Barr joked. "I wanted to edge her out. I feel like she's stealing my act, anyway."

So is Barr really going to run for POTUS in 2012, or is she pulling America's collective leg. We can't tell at this point, but we'd sure love to see her lock horns with Palin in a debate -- or, at the very least, shoot feral pigs from a helicopter together.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/roseanne-barr-running-president/1-a-370642

Kristin Kreuk Kristy Swanson Kylie Bax Lacey Chabert Laetitia Casta