First Avenue - by Chris Riemenschneider (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Where Prince and Minnesota made rock 'n' roll history--a glorious look back at one of rock's most storied clubs and the thousands of musicians who took the stage there.

One of the longest running rock clubs in America, First Avenue in Minneapolis gets the rock-star treatment it deserves with this glorious celebration of a true rock 'n' roll landmark. Revised and updated through the club's 50th anniversary celebrations, the book chronicles the club's storied past--from its impressive inaugural show in April 1970 (Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" tour) up through the latest acts to take the stage at this beloved venue.

In its initial incarnation as the Depot, the club hosted music legends as varied as the Kinks, Ike and Tina Turner, Alice Cooper, and B. B. King before transforming into a disco club known as Uncle Sam's. In the '80s, First Avenue catapulted to the global stage as the hub of Prince's Purple Rain and the incubator for widely revered, wild-eyed indie-rock bands such as the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, and Babes in Toyland. During the past half-century, First Avenue and 7th Street Entry have hosted everyone from the Ramones to R.E.M., Wilco to the Wu-Tang Clan, Billy Idol to Billie Eilish, Lizz Winstead to Lizzo, and hundreds more--all immortalized in this volume.

Over the decades, First Avenue survived corporate competitors, bankruptcy, a bitter ownership battle, and most recently, a global pandemic to become one of the most successful independent clubs in the country and ground zero to Minneapolis's thriving community of hip-hop and indie-rock acts. Amidst all that history, the book is interlaced with anecdotes, quotes, and occasionally cloudy memories from musicians, employees, and regulars--many of whom are as unique as the club itself. Chock full of concert photos and memorabilia collected from professional photographers and average fans alike, the book is a lavish tribute to a rock 'n' roll landmark.

Review Quotes

"First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom looks and feels like the coolest scrapbook ever. While Chris Riemenschneider, a music critic with the Star Tribune since 2001, does an amazing job of recounting the groundbreaking concerts and acts that have happened on this legendary stage (for example, R.E.M. when it was still an underground college band), it was band posters, ticket stubs, and photos from the concerts that pulled me into the book."
Minnesota Monthly

"Filled with hundreds of terrific images, from dramatic concert photos taken by house photographer Daniel Corrigan to snapshots captured behind the scenes and in the crowds by employees and friends of First Avenue. But what holds it all together is the deeply researched and utterly compelling history of the venue written by Chris Riemenschneider. . . . [I]t also serves a sort of history of decades' worth of alternative and underground music in the Twin Cities, tracing the careers of dozens of acts, both local and national, who used the stage as a launching pad to greater success."
Pioneer Press