We were disappointed when we tried to check out Nicholas Schleif's "Purple Reign" portrait of Prince at U.S. Bank Stadium last weekend at the Luke Bryan and Metallica concerts. The nameplate was there in the Purple Lobby but not the painting. No one at USBS could tell us what happened; we'd seen the work at the soccer game on Aug. 3. Finally, this week we received a response from one of the multitude of publicists for the Vikings palace. "The Vikings have told me that the Prince photo was taken down to have Plexiglas installed," said Jenn Hathaway, publicist for the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. "As it was, the painting was not covered." Hathaway explained that the various pieces of artwork were purchased and installed by the Vikings. The team owns and maintains the works. However, the Vikings operate the stadium only on their game days. We guess the new Vikes owners don't have enough Purple Pride to display Prince for all events.
JON BREAM
Lizzo wants her MTV
Twin Cities music lovers have another reason to watch Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards beyond seeing the videos the network never actually shows: Our very own Lizzo is playing a key role in the 7 p.m. red-carpet preshow. "So excited to announce that I'm hosting the @MTV #VMAs2016 with @DJKhaled and @CtheGod," the "Good as Hell" rapper/singer tweeted out Wednesday, referring to hip-hop power broker Khaled and Wendy Williams' radio sidekick Charlamagne Tha God as her co-hosts. Apparently, she will be getting her Joan Rivers on and chatting up folks as they arrive, as well as introducing some preshow performances. This is only the start of what could be a long relationship between Lizzo and MTV; she's also been tapped to co-host a new live music series, "Wonderland," which the network is launching sometime this fall purportedly to put the "music" back in its name (it's also relaunching "MTV Unplugged"). Lizzo's big personality will undoubtedly shine through on TV, but hopefully these on-air gigs won't cut into her own musical output.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
It's a small world
When the Revolution, Prince's 1980s heyday band, was rehearsing this month in Los Angeles, two members had to find lodging for a few weeks. After deciding to room together, keyboardist Matt Fink, who lives in the Twin Cities, and bassist Mark Brown, who calls San Francisco home, perused websites and came up with a place they liked. After they cut the deal, they discovered their temporary digs were right next door to the house where Revolution keyboardist Lisa Coleman has lived for years.
JON BREAM
Trump as theater
Monologuist Mike Daisey is taking on the Republican presidential nominee in "The Trump Card," a solo show that will bring some urgent civic discussions to the Guthrie Theater on Sept. 9-10. Daisey's most famous work is "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," a monologue about conditions at Apple's China factories. The story was broadcast on National Public Radio's "This American Life" as a work of journalism but was retracted after it was discovered to contain parts that were made up. In other words, Daisey is an expert of lying to get to the truth, or, as he likes to put it, performing. "I understand Donald Trump because I'm a performer and he's a performer," Daisey said by phone from his home in New York. "And this is about peeling back the systems so that we see how the performance works."
ROHAN PRESTON
Find more coverage of the arts all week at our pop culture blog startribune.com/artcetera and follow us on Twitter @entertain_mn.
