By all accounts, English rock band the Cure played an excellent show at Pine Knob Music Theatre on Tuesday night — its first in the Detroit area in nearly 20 years. For the true goths in attendance at the sold-out concert, the rainy night at the outdoor amphitheater only enhanced the experience.
However, a good time was not had by all. According to numerous social media posts, parking at the venue was a mess — with fans still stuck in traffic well after the band started playing.
“This was our view for 1.5 hours after the show started,” one fan wrote on Twitter along with a photo showing a traffic gridlock, adding, “We would have loved to see the whole show instead of the last like 45 minutes.” Other fans accused Pine Knob of overselling the show, with another posting a photo showing cars parked on a grass median. “Pine Knob mishandled this one,” another fan wrote, saying they were stuck outside the venue for nearly two hours. “So I’m home now missing one of my favorite bands,” they added.
Kim Klein , vice president of marketing and communication for venue operator 313 Presents, denies that they oversold tickets.
“We’re a professional group,” she says. “We don’t oversell.”
Klein says she believes the traffic jam was caused by the weather coupled with a late-arriving crowd. (She says they’re looking into why cars were parked on the median.) She notes that the venue posts a schedule for all concerts ahead of time, and encourages fans to arrive early.
“We try our best to communicate to folks the details of the show,” she says. Indeed, the venue’s Twitter account @PineKnobMusic tweeted a schedule earlier in the day, indicating that parking opened at 3:30 p.m., with general admission doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and music starting at 7 p.m.
Tonight is going to be "Just Like Heaven" with The Cure at Pine Knob!
— Pine Knob Music Theatre (@PineKnobMusic) June 13, 2023
🚘 Parking opens at 3:30PM
🚪 Trinity Health Ivy Lounge doors open at 5:00PM
🚪 General doors open at 5:30PM
🎶 Music begins at 7:00PM
Presented by: @Ally pic.twitter.com/MvetuXOSnx
Klein says she encourages people to get to the venue early to beat the traffic — and to check out the opening act.
“Part of the experience of Pine Knob is you come with friends, you get there early, you enjoy the full experience there,” she says. “Part of what everybody talks about what they love about Pine Knob is they’re able to come and hang with their friends.” (Of course, tailgating in the rain isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time.)
The last time the Cure performed in metro Detroit was in 2004 at Pine Knob, then known as DTE Energy Music Theatre, as part of its “Curiosa Festival.” There was huge demand for the latest concert not only due to the amount of time that had passed since the last time the band came to town, but also thanks to its insistence on low ticket prices that started at just $20. The band opted not to engage in the supply and demand-based “dynamic pricing” system that has seen ticket prices for acts like Taylor Swift and Blink-182 soar to thousands of dollars per seat. Instead, fans had to register as a “Verified Fan” with Ticketmaster in an effort to thwart scalpers.
After many fans became outraged by the hidden fees Ticketmaster tacked on — exceeding the cost of the $20 ticket — the band’s frontman Robert Smith said he was “as sickened as you all are,” and eventually persuaded Ticketmaster to refund up to $10 per ticket.
Still, many who made it to Pine Knob said the concert was worth it. “Seeing The Cure was amazing,” another fan wrote, “but waiting to park at Pine Knob for 1.5 hours and missing the entire set was not.”
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