The Tool Shed

Photo by Tim Cadiente
Photo by Tim Cadiente

Sorry, bro: tickets for the Tool show at Matt Knight Arena disappeared in, like, 10 seconds. But if you’re a Tool fan you probably already know this.

When the Eugene Tool show was announced a few months ago, you could hear our city’s most pierced and tattooed collectively gasp. The L.A.-based hard rock band has been at it since MTV played videos, building a rabid fan base that rivals the Vatican’s with albums Ænima and Lateralus and controversial songs like “Prison Sex” (banned by MTV) and “Stinkfist.” Tool’s success ushered in the popular nu-metal sound of the early 2000s.

Musically, the band blends singer/mastermind Maynard James Keenan’s smartass-stoner sense of humor with the dark side of Pink Floyd’s conceptual theatrics and the heavy metal of Metallica. New Tool material is rare, and live shows even more rare — the band went on hiatus in 2008.

The enigmatic Keenan is famously reclusive, largely rejecting the spotlight. The goings-on with the band are reported with words like “whispered,” “rumored” and “hinted.” So when it leaked that Tool was working on a new record in late 2013 — slated for release early this year — the Tool army mobilized.

If you slept on the Eugene Tool show, sorry — it sold out in nothing flat. But in 2014 there are always ways to get your tickets, depending, of course, on how much you’re willing to pay.

Tool plays 8 pm Friday, March 7, at Matthew Knight Arena: SOLD OUT.