D(u)MB

How a Facebook prank got a little out of hand and why you should never believe everything you read online

On Thursday, May 5, the phones at downtown restaurant Cowgirl Hall of Fame started ringing incessantly, with dozens of people inquiring about a curious May 13 event listed on Facebook. “Dave Matthews and his band is [sic] in Santa Fe and performing at the best BBQ joint/Bar in town” the listing reads, and as you may have guessed, it’s a complete hoax.

"This is so flipping weird. I mean, you see a lot of stuff over the years when you're in this business, but never something this—it's mostly just kind of silly," Cowgirl owner Nicholas Ballas tells SFR. "The prankster aspect … I'm not sure what the motivation might be here."

Ballas says that more than 70 calls from excited fans have come in thus far, and that one woman even had even demanded a refund for tickets she had purchased (though no one can seem to figure out from where).

"It's disheartening a little and always hard to see people being disappointed, but you kind of have to think, 'Come on, did you honestly think this was real?'" Ballas says with a laugh. "It's this day and age of social media anonymity; it's not sociable and it's not even really media; there's no one vetting this stuff, and it just turns into a rumor mill."

Ballas' "come on" sentiments are right on the money, as no one in their right mind could possibly have believed the small restaurant would play host to a band that ranked number 10 on a 2011 forbes.com list of the highest-paid bands in America, with a whopping $51 million grossed over the course of 68 shows. Plus, what is this? The '90s? Frankly, if you're someplace freaking out about where Dave Matthews is or isn't playing, you deserve the disappointment.

"It reminds me of a few years ago when Yoko Ono was showing some prints of John Lennon at the La Fonda [Hotel], and people were calling up to ask if John was going to play," Cowgirl's music booker Case Tanner says. "The hype isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure why someone would do this. … As much as we'd love to have Dave Matthews Band, a lot of people might think they're just too good for Cowgirl."

OK, so it's a silly little prank gone awry, right? Maybe we should ask the perpetrator herself.

"I thought that nothing interesting happens here, so a couple of friends and I were joking about making a Santa Fe fake event," 27-year-old local artist Andrea Caruso says. "Dave Matthews came up, and the irony of that was funny, so Friday the 13th sounded like an ideal date, some time to get the hype up."

Caruso, who creates multimedia found art pieces and works as a VJ under the name Bubblz, says she never thought the joke would go this far. "The people who are taking it seriously is the best part," she says. "The Sean Healen Band should be grateful because they are getting more attention than they would ever have gotten."

Caruso refers to longtime prolific local songwriter Sean Healen, who is the actual musician scheduled on the Cowgirl's bill for May 13 and who hadn't heard about the hoax when we called him. To his credit, he simply laughed off the prank.

"I can show up and be like Dave Matthews," he says. "Or I could put on some eyeliner and do Garth Brooks."

As a comedic statement, you've gotta admit that Caruso got some people good. It's also a little scary to think about how many people got so excited about Dave Matthews coming to town, despite his whole sucking-huge situation. Either way, it's generally a good idea to vet your sources before you shout information retrieved from the internet from the rooftops.

It would also be a good idea for everyone involved to simply laugh about this and go about their lives—it ultimately doesn't matter.

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.