McLean realised what had happened but was so outraged on behalf of his partner that he complained to the Advertising Standards Authority.
"If it slipped past her then it wasn't good enough, just because I was able to read it in a way more accurate to reality," he wrote.
McLean said the Facebook advertisement contained "outright lies" but was keen to stress he was not the one who had been duped.
"My claim that the disclosure is not adequate comes from the way the concert was explained to me, not by my own interpretation of the advert," he said.
The authority chairman took only five sentences to dismiss the complaint, noting the word "tribute" was plainly used.
"There was a clear indication that the bands were not appearing in person, for example 'Deftones by Tone-def' and 'KoRn by KRON'," the chairman said.
"The bands in question are well-known American rock or metal bands and it would have been reasonable to expect that the entrance fee for such a concert would be more than the advertised price of $15."
Re:Fuel Bar manager Scott Muir was astonished by McLean's grievance when alerted to the judgement by the Otago Daily Times.
"Wow," he said. "That's crazy." There was no way any reasonable person could have misinterpreted the advertising, he reckoned.
But if McLean was one of the 330 who packed out the venue, he might have been forgiven for thinking he was listening to the real thing, Muir said. "They were very very good. It's one of the biggest nights we've had."
