Since about Friday afternoon, rumors concerning a "secret performance" by French superstar electronic music duo Daft Punk have been circulating the web, eliciting various responses, ranging from the "I think it's gonna happen! I think it's going to happen!" from new ticket holders to, "sounds like bullshit" from people who aren't going. Details are still vague -- even after buying tickets -- but you can check out the concert webpage here, the buzz on Facebook here, and the ShanghaiExpat event posting here. Here's the low down:

Daft Punk is coming to Shanghai this Friday. It's a "secret concert" and the venue will be released to ticket holders only via SMS on Friday. The only tickets available are presales, and those are going for 500rmb. 2,000 concert attendees are expected to attend, although there is much speculation that more tickets will be sold if the demand is there.

The website reveals that presale tickets are available at 2/f, 58 Taicang Lu (near Xintiandi, not Taikang Lu). A friend who went there and got his ticket says the office looks like a proper office associated with the group's record label, but it's only recently been opened and everyone in there is an intern or something.

Another source who's familiar with Daft Punk and their bookings says "this is totally their style". So, who knows...

Setting aside the possibility that this is some glorious scam, we hope for the sake of the ticket holders that the concert organizers have greased the proper wheels, filled out the forms, and payed off the right people. A concert for 2,000 with 500rmb tickets is not exactly low-key, and odds are it would get shut down pretty quickly if it were the case they were trying to sneak it past the local fuzz.

Anyone who's been in Shanghai for a few years will remember a very similar situation with a warehouse party involving a Mr. Paul van Dyk in 2002. That one was shut down by the cops just a few minutes into the party, and promoters where unable/unwilling to refund the ticket prices.

Tickets are available through this website.