A Few More Things: Morrissey, Celine Dion & Fuse

Los Angeles’ Staples Center is giving up meat for Morrissey (at least, for one night), Celine Dion is too sick to take the stage in Las Vegas this week, plus Fuse is once again bringing the Brit Awards into the homes of U.S. fans.

Morrissey won’t have to worry about the smell of burning flesh at his March 1 show at Staples Center. The British singer and longtime vegetarian was able to convince the venue and concert promoter Goldenvoice to take all of the meat-based concessions off the food vendors’ menus and close down the arena’s McDonald’s outlets for the night, according to the Los Angeles Times blog Pop & Hiss. The blog notes that this is a first for the Staples Center and that fellow vegetarian Paul McCartney didn’t get the same treatment when he played the venue.

The Staples Center put out an announcement about the special menu items it’s cooking up for the show. The venue is adding a number of veggie-friendly items to the concession stands and will be offering fans the choice of vegan sloppy joes, grilled veggie sandwich, cheese pizza, vegan sushi, cheese nachos, veggie burgers, veggie wraps, pasta, salads, a hummus-and-pita plate and more.

The venue has also promised to talk to the restaurants at L.A. Live about the possibility of adding vegetarian options to their menus for the night.

Photo: Dustin Whitlow for I.M.P.
Music Center At Strathmore, North Bethesda, Md.

Goldenvoice is donating a portion of each ticket sale from the sold-out Staples show to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

“I don’t look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals,” Moz said in a statement. Hopefully this news cheers up the former Smiths frontman, who has been forced to postpone several recent dates because of health issues including a bleeding ulcer. After calling off three more dates over the weekend, his next show is Feb. 27 in San Diego.

{Update: Staples Center has clarified that it will still be serving meat at Morrissey’s show.}

Celine Dion is also under the weather. Her doctor has said she must “rest for a period of seven consecutive days in order for her to fully recover” after developing a secondary infection (sinusitis) following last week’s case of the flu.

That means her Feb. 19-22 performances at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas have been canceled. Tickets purchased via a credit card will be automatically refunded. If you paid using cash, contact the original point of sale for a refund. And for tickets purchased through Ticketmaster, you can call 1-877-4-CELINE for more information.

Photo: AP Photo
Walmart Stores Inc. shareholders’ meeting, Fayetteville, Ark.

Dion returns to The Colosseum for her next residency show Feb. 26.  

And in case you were wondering, Dion is being treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Finally, you’ll want to tune into Fuse tomorrow – Feb. 20 – to catch The Brit Awards at 6 p.m./5 p.m. Central. For the second year in the row the Madison Square Garden Company’s national music television network is the exclusive U.S. home for the awards show, which Fuse describes as “England’s way funnier, way drunker version of the Grammys.”

Hosted by actor/writer/producer/Tony Award winner James Corden, the 2013 Brits will feature performances by Taylor Swift, Robbie Williams, Muse, Ben Howard, One Direction, Mumford & Sons, Emeli Sandé and Justin Timberlake.

Mumford & Sons, Sandé and Alt-J are tied for the most nominations with each act up for three awards, including British Album of the Year.

Photo: John Shearer / Invision / AP
Grammy Awards, Staples Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

And if you just can’t get enough of the Brit Awards, you’ll want to check back on Feb. 21 for a comprehensive recap from Fuse News anchor Alexa Chung.

Visit Fuse.TV for more information. And click here for Fuse’s predictions of the 2013 winners.