Goodbye from the other side: there will be no free Adele concert at the Quincy Center T Station, despite a fake Facebook event claiming the Grammy Award-winning artist would take to the stage there Wednesday night. The event, started by a Facebook page called “Usual Suspects,” (falsely) advises fans that the “Hello” and “Skyfall” singer will perform at 6 p.m. Wednesday, along with special guest Train — get it? Well, OK. Obvious as the prank may seem to some, it did prompt MBTA Police to issue a “SCAM ALERT !!!!!” advising fans to “not show up for Adele” for fear it may lead to”public safety issues.”
SCAM ALERT !!!!! Adele is NOT doing an impromptu performance at Quincy T station. Do not show up for Adele. Help us spread the word. #FAKE
— MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) September 13, 2016
#FAKE Adele is NOT showing up to Quincy T station. She is playing at TD Garden only. False rumor please spread the word. TY #MBTA
— MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) September 13, 2016
SCAM ALERT: We want to avoid any public safety issues. Adele is NOT showing up at Quincy T. FALSE RUMOR. Thank you. #MBTA
— MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) September 13, 2016
As of noon Tuesday, the concert had over 300 people RSVP, though it’s likely a substantial portion of those were registered ironically. Others, though, appeared to express genuine excitement.
“Going to wear these nail wraps to the show! So excited!” one commenter wrote, with a picture of sheet music-designed nail wraps.
It’s not the first such prank for the “Usual Suspects” page, which is also responsible for promoting some other seemingly implausible events, such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Weymouth Whole Foods and Digital Underground (featuring Snoop Dogg) in a Burger King bathroom. A person who responded to messages sent to the “Usual Suspects” inbox said the page was originally created to promote real concerts in the area, but progressed to a few pranks after the perpetrators were inspired by similar jokes seen in other cities. “I mean here is the thing: anyone can create an event anywhere on Facebook, and people think it’s true,” the person wrote. “We wanted to make a few local ones for a laugh.”
How does the group feel about their trolling becoming so notorious that it reached the attention of law enforcement?
“I know with [The Red Hot Chili Pepper concert at Whole Foods post], when we first made it Whole Foods corporation wrote on the page,” the person wrote, apparently unfazed by the police attention. The group also intended the event as a tongue-in-cheek protest about the closure of the Quincy Center parking garage in 2012, due to structural issues. It has not re-opened.
“This joke just illustrated what a joke the MBTA not to have a plan in service years ago,” the person wrote.
It’s not the area’s first time dealing with a fake concert flyer — last year, U2 fans packed The Burren Bar in Davis Square for a purportedly secret U2 concert that never materialized. But, Adele fans, all hope is not lost: there are still a limited number of tickets available for the singer’s actual shows at TD Garden Wednesday and Thursday nights — you’ll just have to pay for them.