L'Arc en Ciel hit Shanghai Grand Stage

Hello Shanghai! Big hair Japanese rockers L'Arc-en-Ciel hit Shanghai Saturday night and word is that tickets are selling well in both the high and low price ranges.

The four-piece, known to fans as Laruku or L’Arc, are huge in Japan with stacks of number one singles and over 20 million sales of their 10 albums and countless singles since forming in Osaka 16 years ago.

Don’t mix them up with J-pop groups like Pizzicato 5 or Cornelius. In their anime-inspired outfits, L’Arc en Ciel are the Poison or Motley Crue you can take back to your parents. They are not so much about the music as the glam performances: loud, outrageous haircuts, makeup and androgynous outfits; which is lucky, as their muddy melodic heavy metal would be hard pressed to entice the massive teenage girl fan-base otherwise.

Shell out up to RMB 5,000 for tickets or just stand outside spotting thousands of obsessed fans dressing up as their favourite band members, trading glossy photo-books, postcards and stickers.

L’Arc en Ciel at Shanghai Grand Stage, 1111 Caoxi Bei Lu, Saturday, September 10, 7:30 pm. Tickets: RMB 200 - 5,000 online.