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MFA, Madonna, social media, vogueing, thunderstorms, oh my

Thanks to our ongoing weathertastrophe, the Museum of Fine Arts has postponed its big outdoor karaoke party from tomorrow to July 8 at 6:30 p.m. in front of the MFA’s grand façade on Huntington Avenue. The Boston debut of "Queen (A Portrait of Madonna)" by Candice Breitz, featuring 30 people singing to “Vogue,” will be projected on the front of the Museum. The Museum is hoping for a big crowd to vogue and sing along. And the exhibit will be free and open till 9:45 that night. "Queen" is part of a new exhibit, "Contemporary Outlook: Seeing Songs," opening at the MFA tomorrow and featuring a variety of international artists, "explores the inspiration visual artists have derived from music" in a variety of mediums. (It seems the MFA never tires of Herb Ritts.) In the interests of promoting it all, the MFA is stepping up its social media efforts on Facebook and has posted a Flickr set full of photos of museum staff and visitors striking vogue poses. That's Museum Director Malcolm Rogers and his executive assistant Ann Ghormley at right. Anyone else thinking caption contest?

Neil + Paul + A Day In The Life

I tweeted about this earlier. Joan Anderman just pointed to the video. Neil Young plays "A Day In The Life" at a London rock festival over the weekend. Then Sir Paul walks onstage. Awe. Some. Looks like Fenway is getting Macca on an upswing.

Good news is, Mass. Cultural Council gets $9.7M

Bad news is, that's down 23 percent from the current budget. Other bad news is, no money for the Cultural Facilities Fund.

Here's the release:

GOVERNOR APPROVES $9.7 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR MCC
(Boston, MA) Governor Deval Patrick today signed a state budget that calls for an appropriation of $9.7 million for the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) in fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1. This represents a 23.4% reduction from the 2009 appropriation of $12.65 million.

"America's Biggest Asshole": Reality TV reaches its apotheosis

And, of course, there's a casting call right here in Boston! Yes, Boston Casting is seeking contestants for a new Spike TV reality show called, with coy asterisks that I choose to ignore, "America's Biggest A**hole." The pitch asks if you irritate perfect strangers, are quick on your feet, like practical jokes. "EVEN THOUGH SOME PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE HYSTERICAL, DO YOU HAPPEN TO PISS A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF?" If so, you can attend the open call at Boston Casting, 129 Braintree St., on July 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., or at Red Sky, Faneuil Hall, on July 15, 6-9 p.m. They had to have one in a bar, of course, because some people just don't become raging assholes until they've had a few drinks. And if neither of those times are convenient for you, asshole, e-mail a photo, contact information and a few lines about why you should be on the show to Julie@bostoncasting.com. It's 18+. Googling for show information, I came across a lot of posts about Rush Limbaugh and Mitt Romney, and also a funny post from this weekend describing how some poor young woman was trying to recruit assholes for the show in the parking lot before a baseball game in Chicago.

Salem Theatre Company offers free "Underpants" to NSMT subscribers

Add the Salem Theatre Company to the list of groups trying to get a share of the thousands of theatergoers disenfranchised by the closing of the North Shore Music Theatre. The STC is offering nearly 50 free tickets for subscribers of the NSMT to the STC's upcoming production of Steve Martin’s “The Underpants.” The STC will make a half-dozen tickets per show available free to NSMT subscribers on a first-come-first-serve basis, one per subscriber. Blackout dates include opening night. Interested? Send an email to info@salemtheatre.com or call (978) 790-8546.  Proof of NSMT subscription must be shown the day of the performance to collect the tickets. Oh, and if the freebies are unclaimed 12 hours before the performance, they may sell them. Steve Martin’s adaptation of “The Underpants” by Carl Sternheim runs July 16 – Aug. 2 at the First Church in Salem. Regular tickets are $20 for adults.

Jason Aldean plays Brockton

Paul McCartney plays Fenway in August. Country star Jason Aldean will play Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, the minor-league ballpark that has hosted Bob Dylan and other stars. Now riding the charts with his "Wide Open" album and "Big Green Tractor" single, Aldean will twang it up at Campanelli on Aug. 12 with opening acts Jimmy Wayne and Dean Brody.  Tix, $29.50 and $47.50, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the box office,  www.rockonconcerts.com,  www.ticketweb.com,  by phone at 1-866-468-7619..

311 reschedules for Monday

A power outage killed the show by 311 and Ziggy Marley at the Comcast Center in Mansfield on Wednesday night. LiveNation just announced the show has been postponed until this Monday. All tickets will be honored then, but refunds are still available at point of purchase.

Shepard Fairey returns to the ICA, with Chuck D

The last time Shepard Fairey was supposed to rock the house at the ICA/Boston, on his opening night in February, he got arrested. The legal case over his postering the city goes on. But Fairey (left) will make another attempt to spin the wheels of steel at the ICA on July 31, a couple of weeks before the "Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand" exhibit closes to move to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. He's coming for "Obey Experiment REDUX," a major-league bomp-sh-bomp from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., which will find attendees taking in the exhibit, including his iconic "Obama Hope" poster, and hitting the dance floor while Fairey plays DJ with the help of collaborator Z-Trip and guest Chuck D. Bringing along a member of Public Enemy to the city where Fairey was celebrated and handcuffed on the same night seems like an obvious in-joke.

"Supply and Demand" has the ICA's most popular exhibition since its 2006 opening. "Attendance has reached nearly 100,000, and will likely go on to become one of the highest-attended exhibitions of any contemporary art museum in the United States this year," the ICA says. Perhaps more importantly, the exhibit "has surpassed all our aspirations for audience, debate and diversity," said director Jill Medvedow.

The graffiti bust hasn't been the only controversy, of course. Fairey has also been criticized both substantively (for appropriated images) and stylistically (has he cashed his street cred?). The $125 VIP lounge tickets to Obey Experiment REDUX (open bar - light snacks - meet the artist) will not silence the naysayers. Regular tix are $35, and memebrs get discounts on both. The bash is 21+. Tix: Tickets at www.icaboston.org or 617-478-3103.

Morning reading

The release came last night: Paul McCartney at Fenway Aug. 5 + 6. No prices yet, but tix go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at livenation.com, at the Orpheum box office or at 1-800-514-3849. No tickets will be sold at Fenway Park. We saw the show at the Garden several years back and it was surprisingly terrific. ... Turns out a great photographer known for his work on Coney Island now lives just up the road from HubArts HQ. Big Red & Shiny has an interview. ... I've also been meaning to send you to Greg's review of the DeCordova's "Old, Weird America" exhibit. A few miles in the other direction, Adam Sandler has taken over Woodman's to film his new movie, clam-blocking the locals. There's deets on Mass. movie industry mania at the Loaded Gun and at Hollywood East. ... Boys night out for "Hangover" last night. We laughed a lot but it was no "Superbad."

World Music/CRASHarts announces fall schedule

World Music/CRASHarts will offer Boston debuts by three groups during the fall season announced today. That's music and dance from the Solomon Islands' Narasirato Pan Pipers at the Somerville on Oct. 2, Indian pop superstar Kailash Kher and his seven-piece band Kailasa on Nov. 13 at the Somerville Theatre, and contemporary dance from  Trey McIntyre Project (right) Nov. 20-22 at the ICA. Also on the bill are rock from Dirty Three and Mirah, folk from Steeleye Span and Richard Shindell, and martial arts from China's Shaolin Warriors at the Orpheum. Tickets are onsale now at (617) 876-4275 or www.WorldMusic.org. Complete schedule is after the jump. (Picture: Jonas Lundqvist)