The Hult Center departs from its usual fare of high culture and fine arts by opening its doors to Tool on Sunday night.
Fans began lining up around the Hult Center last Friday, anticipating a sold-out show. About 2,500 lucky people scored tickets to see one of rock music’s most sought-after bands.
But many Tool enthusiasts missed the Hult Center boat as the show sold out in 68 minutes.
The Los Angeles-based heavy-metal quartet kicked off a mini-tour in Denver on Aug. 3. Tool was scheduled to make only one stop in Oregon, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, but the band surprised fans with a last-minute addition of a Eugene stop to the roster.
“This was a bizarre version of a normal process,” said Carol Brubaker, the marketing and public relations manager for the Hult Center.
“The whole tour was put together very quickly. The promoters saw a good market in Eugene,” she said.
The Hult Center joins nine other small West Coast stages Tool chose for this tour. Many fans said they are excited to experience the band’s heavy sounds in a smaller venue.
“This rocks. I tried to get tickets for the Portland show, but it sold out too fast,” said freshman physics major and Tool fan Andreas Tsiboukis, who did score tickets to the Eugene show.
Tool’s popularity enables them to sell out large arenas, something they will attempt to do on this fall’s U.S. arena tour. Their rumbling bass riffs, ferocious guitar licks and angst-filled vocals transform any venue into a cauldron of primal energy as the crowd swirls with the music.
“Even though I didn’t get tickets, I think it’s cool that they’re playing small shows,” junior humanities major Ben Hubert said. “It’s just a different feeling in a smaller crowd and a smaller space.”
Vintage rockers King Crimson will open for the band during August’s mini-tour. Tool’s tour comes on the heels of the release of their fourth full-length album, “Lateralus.” The band was formed in 1991 in Los Angeles and quickly achieved stardom when they released “Undertow” in 1993. Dark, angry music coupled with mind-blowing claymation videos earned them legions of fans.
After a huge first album, they seem to be on a three-year cycle for new material and tours, although lead singer Maynard James Keenan stopped in Portland twice last year with his side project, A Perfect Circle.
“A Perfect Circle was great, but Tool is the real deal. I’ve waited a long time for this,” Tsiboukis said.
According to Brubaker, the Hult Center holds an equally optimistic view.
“Tool could do well in a large venue, and I think it’s great that they chose us. It’s nice for the fans to get to be up close and personal. They made a lot of happy people,” she said.