The Cure's performance at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival came to a grinding halt when the promoter pulled the plug on the band early Monday.

“Grinding Halt,” in fact, was the song The Cure was playing when the power was turned off.

Paul Tollett, who's in charge of the festival's promotion company, Goldenvoice, said the shutdown was “curfew-related” and it was Goldenvoice's decision to cut off the public address system.

He said he did not want to comment further.

“Concerts are supposed to be done by midnight,” said Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron. “It doesn't matter if it's Beethoven.”

The city does not shut down Coachella performers, Guitron said. It just makes sure the promoter is aware of the time as it closes in on midnight.

“Anything that goes beyond that is up to Goldenvoice,” he said.

Bands blowing deadline, however, is not without cost.

“If the event runs in excess of the contracted duration, it's $5,000,” said Mark Wasserman, assistant to Indio city manager Glenn Southard.

That's the minimum charge, whether it's one, two, three, four or five minutes past midnight.

And after the first five minutes?

“It's $1,000 for each additional minute,” Wasserman said.

Paul McCartney played 54 minutes past deadline Friday, The Killers played 30 minutes over on Saturday and The Cure's set went over by 33 minutes, Wasserman said.

Indio will discuss the overages with Goldenvoice, but not until after Stagecoach this weekend, for which Goldenvoice also is the promoter.

The money goes to city's general fund, Wasserman said.

Cure concertgoer Nichelle Dunn of Palm Desert said the unplugging came gradually.

“Robert Smith was having fun, and he wanted to play as long as he possibly could,” Dunn said. “They wanted that marathon set.”

Just past 12:30 a.m. Monday, the main lights were turned on — usually the signal that the performance is ending — then the big screens were shut off and the lights on the stage were turned on, Dunn said.

“Right after they started ‘Boys Don't Cry,' the main speaker was turned off,” but the stage amp was still on, she said.

So the band continued to play.

Once the group finished the song, and started in on another, the stage amps were turned off.

It was about 12:40 a.m., she said.

To the crowd's delight, the drummer kept playing, she said.

Smith stood on stage with a look that seemed to say, “Sorry, we'd keep going if we could,” she said.