First Avenue
Subtitle: Minnesota's mainroom
By: Chris Riemenschneider
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 263
ISBN-13: 9781681340449
Subjects: Rock music; Rock concerts; Rock musicians; First Avenue & 7th St Entry (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Description: One of the longest running clubs in American rock 'n' roll, First Avenue in Minneapolis finally gets the rock-star treatment it deserves in print. This book chronicles the club's storied past, beginning with its impressive inaugural show in April 1970 (Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" tour) and through its oft-maligned disco era of the late 1970s. In the 1980s, it earned global attention 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. The Ramones and R.E.M., Chrissie Hynde and Lauryn Hill, Wilco and the Wu-Tang Clan, and hundreds more played the hallowed halls of First Avenue and 7th Street Entry, and all are immortalized in this volume. First Avenue survived corporate competitors, bankruptcy, and a bitter ownership battle 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 celebration of a rock 'n' roll landmark.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Filling a void: First Avenue's prehistory; title: Getting rolling with the Depot: 1970-1971; title: Disco and decadence at Uncle Sam's: 1972-1979; title: New name, new attitude: 1980-1981; title: Prince's reign: part 1: 1981-1983; title: Becoming First Avenue: 1982-1990; title: Prince's reign, part 2: 1983-1987; title: The Mainroom goes mainstream, and hip-hop breaks through: the 1990s; title: To the brink: 2000-2004; title: The real heyday: 2005 to today.