Last week, All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen went to what he thought was a concert by Grace Vonderkuhn, only to discover the show was actually for tween pop sensation Grace VanderWaal, from America's Got Talent.
But Bob isn't the first person to make this kind of mixup. In England recently, Red Hot Chili Peppers fan Duncan Robb found bargain tickets online to see what he thought was his girlfriend's favorite band, in a Belfast, Ireland show. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift to her. The tickets came in the mail, the flights were booked and the couples' getaway was a go.
But on the Wednesday before the Saturday show, Robb's girlfriend double-checked the tickets only to find that he had not bought them passes to see the foremost purveyors of California funk-rock. Instead, the tickets were for Red Hot Chilli Pipers, a musical act self-billed as "the most famous bagpipe band on the planet."
Even though it was likely no match to seeing "Californication" or "Under the Bridge" live, the couple attended the show and enjoyed themselves. Robb described it on Twitter as "an experience," seemingly impressed by "the variety of songs they could play" on the pipes.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers won a BBC reality competition in 2007 and just last month, played two sold-out shows in Bermuda. Still, despite an eclectic repertoire of covers that span the White Stripes, "Gangnam Style" and loads of classic rock staples, the band has yet to pay tribute to its namesake.
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