Wait, where's the Cure show tonight?

Fans took to Twitter to point out the error on the gig poster being sold at Thursday's Xcel Center show.

June 8, 2023 at 3:06PM
Robert Smith of the Cure performed in May at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Center; not to be confused with Baton Rouge. (Brett Duke, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Fans of the Cure looking forward to tonight's long-awaited Twin Cities date will be happy to know a special gig poster has been printed up to sell at the St. Paul concert.

There's just one problem, though: The artwork lists the show as happening in Minneapolis.

"Here's a sneak peak for tomorrow night's poster," the British goth-pop vets tweeted out Wednesday on their Twitter feed, with a Cure-perfect dark and gloomy print-screen image of two birds of prey eyeing the sky — but with this imperfect gig info on it: "June 8, 2023 / Xcel Energy Center / Minneapolis."

The Cure's Twitter scroll has since been inundated with responses from fans good-naturedly sticking up for the 651.

"Ooops, poster artist… There's a river between Minneapolis and St. Paul," tweeted @wahljo.

"Very cool, but you spelled Saint Paul wrong," responded @NessLesman.

And from @Gary_J_Fisch: "Make sure the tour bus gets you to St. Paul. The Xcel Energy Center isn't in Minneapolis."

Of course, poster art is a different division at Cure HQ than the road crew, which has already been to Xcel Center once when the band played its one and only other Minnesota gig of the 21st century there in 2016.

Still, St. Paul residents can be easily offended in these matters. So perhaps Robert Smith should make it up to them by throwing an extra song or two into the set list tonight. One suggestion: "Lost" from 2004's self-titled album. Or maybe just dedicate "Why Can't I Be You?" to the more-often-slighted Twin City.

Some useful information for tonight's concert: The show is officially sold-out, but "face value exchange tickets" are currently available via Ticketmaster — part of the band's widely applauded (and hopefully soon-to-be-copied) efforts to combat Ticketmaster price-jacking shenanigans. Also, the Cure has been posting set times in each city, which in MinneapolisSt. Paul are: Scottish openers the Twilight Sad at 7:30 p.m., and the Cure at 8:45. The band has been playing for more than 2½ hours every night.

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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