Voice Places
Send to Friend Print

First Avenue

Map
HopStop

View on Large Map
Get Directions

20 people have posted a review, snapped a photo, checked in, or tipped this place. Use your voice!
First Avenue
  

00000 - 00000 of 00000

+ Add A Photo

00,000 of 00,000

701 1st Ave. N. Minneapolis, MN 55403

612-338-8388 

Website 

20 User reviews Write A Review

advertisement

  • $$
    Wheelchair Accessible, Wifi Access
  • Live Entertainment
    Full bar
  • Garage, Street
Description

The club known worldwide thanks to 'Purple Rain' is a national treasure to Twin Cities music fans, who can catch anyone from local favorites to internationally-touring veterans at this former bus depot. A spacious dance floor and a balcony with great sightlines make even the most packed shows worthwhile experiences.







Back to TopEvents | All Minneapolis (Downtown) Events
Back to TopAwards | Visit the Best Of Website

  • 2012 | Best Concert of the Past 12 Months (Touring)

    "You guys sound like an arena," tUnE-yArDs maestro Merrill Garbus beamed halfway through her sold-out set in the Mainroom last fall. And Garbus was right to be impressed by the crowd's reaction -- it was one of the most joyous and shrieking receptions a Minneapolis crowd has shown a touring act in recent memory, save for the last time Taylor Swift came through town. With every ukulele strum and looped vocal melody the audience would respond in unbridled elation, and it was that give and... More »

  • 2012 | Best Concert of the Past 12 Months (Local)

    The tagline of their seven-night love affair with the city seemed to say it all: "One whole fucking week." But the full concert experience wasn't limited to the Doomtree marathon's all-hands-on-deck performances in the Mainroom; no, the most spectacular element of last year's Blowout was that it pulled in dozens of the most talented and diverse acts the hip-hop scene had to offer, showcasing them all in a buffet-style spread over five sweaty, swirling nights in the Entry. The entire Doomtree... More »

  • 2012 | Best Dance Club

    We don't need to convince you of First Avenue's longstanding icon status in Minneapolis or that it's one of the top rock clubs in the nation. But you might not know the club has been supporting the little guy -- in this case, the electronic music community -- from the genre's early days when turntables weren't considered an ancient artifact and club music was on the fringe. It was Kevin Cole's now legendary Depth Probe radio broadcasts and the feel-good nights at Sunday Night Dance... More »

  • 2012 | Best Dance Night

    In five years, Get Cryphy has grown from a 300-person Record Room experience to a full-fledged Mainroom extravaganza at First Avenue, and for good reason. The famous local foursome composed of Plain Ole Bill, Jimmy2Times, Fundo, and LASTWORD are not only slick DJs and producers, they're also all best friends, and it comes across behind the booth. On the first Friday of every month, the storied checkered dance floor fills to its edges with kids looking for a hyped-up rap party, and that's... More »

  • 2011 | Best Concert of the Past 12 Months (Touring)

    It was the most expensive concert ticket for a Mainroom show in recent memory, but Hill made it worth every penny. It took only about 30 seconds for Ms. Lauryn Hill (as she requested to be billed on the club's signage) to put to rest all the ridiculous rumors that had swelled up around her rare string of concert dates and to command the entire sweaty, sold-out room at First Avenue, singing with a kind of classic showwomanship and fierce stage presence that most contemporary performers can... More »

  • 2011 | Best Concert Venue

    First Ave's 40th birthday was quite the landmark, so it's appropriate that the House That Prince Built celebrated the occasion in style, with a number of renovations and additions taking place at the legendary venue. The most prominent of those was the appearance of the Depot, a full-fledged restaurant that sprouted on the far side of the 7th St. Entry and managed to add a welcome new dimension to the concertgoing experience without sanitizing or diminishing it. The new, homogenized stars on... More »

  • 2011 | Best Dance Club

    For a long time First Avenue was the club to default to if nothing else was going on, but it has increasingly over the last decade become the spot to indulge in a wild night of drinking and dancing, especially on Saturdays. Plus, you can usually get a drink from one of the seven full-service bars without much hassle, unlike many other cramped and crowded venues in the city. From salsa to hip hop to techno, First Avenue is and has always been the mainstay. More »

  • 2011 | Best Celebrity Letdown

    It seemed destined to be the event of the year: Gayngs' first-ever public performance, themed "The Last Prom on Earth," on a Friday last May. As the mellowed-out sounds of the band wafted from the First Avenue stage, chatter from the audience was abruptly halted by a new buzz: "He's here! I saw him!" Those connected at the brainstem to Twitter quickly learned that the Purple One, the Artist Currently Known As Prince, had been seen walking into the club, guitar in hand, before he took up... More »

  • 2010 | BEST DANCE CLUB

    Except maybe when the Quest was around a decade ago, has there ever been a better dance club than First Avenue This year alone the place not only revamped its popular ass-shaking crevice formerly known as the VIP Room (now titled the Record Room), but it also housed the most successful dance nights in the city. Among them: Get Cryphy, Too Much Love, Ritmo Caliente, Hot Dish, Black, and more. If this club is any indication, the Twin Cities most certainly like to get down. More »

  • 2009 | Best Dance Club

    Objects appear more vivid when set against a dark background, although it's doubtful the interior decorators at First Avenue considered that when they doused the club in practical black lacquer paint. Against that backdrop, the kaleidoscope of characters on display every Saturday at the Too Much Love dance night makes for a vivid Petri dish of a dance floor. While TML is like an ant farm of hipsters in the Mainroom, upstairs the VIP Room is like Cheers for the jaded ex-ravers who frequent... More »

  • 2009 | Best Fashion Show

    Minneapolis may not have the Olympian size, bottomless-budget theatrics, or front-row celebrity roster of the runway shows of New York Fashion Week, but it does have a precious jewel in Spring MNfashion Week's Voltage: Fashion Amplified. Voltage celebrates its fifth season April 24, and it stands out in the small sea of blowout fashion nights for a reason: It always thinks New York, even in the Midwest. Voltage expands on the innovative premise that fashion and music are seamlessly sewn... More »

  • 2009 | Best Place to Meet Single Men (Gay)

    We're not sure exactly what kind of love goes down at Too Much Love on Saturday nights at First Avenue, but it's a powerful magnet for expressive twenty- and thirtysomethings in Minneapolis, and it nets an astonishing number of cuties each week, both straight and gay--a lot gay. Too Much Love is a smorgasbord of sexy guys, from skinny-jeaned queens to the sophisticated blazer-and-fedora contingency. It's easy to find a partner when you can bond over silly '80s remixes and hipster dance... More »

  • 2008 | BEST CLUB DJ

    Soviet Panda may travel rather light, without vinyl crates to tote to his weekly residency at First Avenue's Too Much Love dance nights. But whether holier-than-thou crate diggers like it or not, the new millennium is upon us, and the title "disc jockey" now has a secondary definition. Soviet Panda's runaway success owes much to the fact that First Avenue has opened its doors to an 18-and-up crowd, and a few moments inside the decidedly adolescent TML will have the grownups snickering and... More »

  • 2008 | BEST CONCERT VENUE

    Like a medieval peasant who, barehanded, kicks the shit out of knight after mounted knight, First Avenue stays on top of its racket with intuition and finesse. Sure, the best sightlines in town help, along with the 71-year-old structure's incomparable acoustics...which maybe, as management claims, really are related to the ceiling scuzz that sometimes falls on our heads. But the 38-year-old nightclub's continued knack for fending off the slings and arrows of corporate fortunes stems mostly... More »

  • 2007 | BEST ROCK CLUB

    There's a huge gulf between the earthly bounds of the small-capacity bar/nightclub and the teeming edifice of the 18,000-seat sports arena--not just spatially, but in the type of bands that take the stage. Fortunately, it's a gap that First Avenue has been filling admirably for decades. The feat has been especially impressive in the last few years, when First Ave has had to weather a nasty booking market and competition from newer, bigger venues. Yet the club grinds proudly on. April... More »

  • 2007 | BEST CONCERT OF THE PAST 12 MONTHS (LOCAL)

    Some concerts are meant to be happenings, be they CD-release shows, multimedia blowouts, or even treasure hunts. Others become happenings. Call it kismet, call it savvy tour planning, but when Tapes 'n Tapes scheduled this co-headlining bill with the Plastic Constellations for July 22 last summer, they probably had no idea it would end up being just two days before their appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman and the worldwide release of The Loon on XL Recordings. Both bands had... More »

  • 2005 | BEST DANCE CLUB

    Give First Avenue credit for balls: Their dance nights have been pared down, with the V.I.P. room temporarily closed, and regular Mainroom dance hours reduced to Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (with a 21+ age restriction all three nights). But instead of establishing a surefire cheesy dance format (more '80s hits, anyone), the big black bus station has let passionate DJs cater to specialized audiences since the change of ownership and brief closing last November. The results have been... More »

  • 2005 | BEST ROCK CLUB

    There are some who will say that deeming First Avenue "Best Rock Club" is like giving Grammys to the dead guy. It is a little too easy, but this is no sympathy vote. Like a near-death experience, the brief demise of the Twin Cities' most famous nightclub taught us not to take things for granted. For two and a half excruciating weeks, countless concertgoers would have sacrificed their unborn children just to see the mayor stage dive one more time. But a phoenix rose from those ashes, all... More »

  • 2003 | BEST CONCERT VENUE

    It's a testament to First Avenue's reputation that there's at least one musician in this town who would rather play in the club's bathroom than in any number of clean, presumably non-urine-stained spaces across the Twin Cities. Anyone who was there when local techno wizard Fuckstorm staged a show among the urinals in the Ave's men's room two years ago surely understands his devotion to the venue. After all, First Ave and the Entry are filled with our rock 'n' roll histories: our first... More »

  • 2002 | BEST CONCERT VENUE

    Even concertgoers have to make sacrifices. Every week, for instance, tinnitus-afflicted folks wait in a long line just to schlep through ye olde slime-coated, live-crud-harvesting vomitorium--otherwise known by its common name: the 7th St. Entry bathroom. Now that's devotion. What else can you call it when music fanatics are willing to hold both their bladders and their breath in the name of seeing some fantastic shows Well, you can probably call it supremely unhealthy, but at least this... More »

  • 2002 | BEST PLACE TO MEET SINGLE MEN (STRAIGHT)

    There are only two reasons you won't get chatted up at Pastor Paul's Acoustic Garage Sale: Either all the knickknacks for sale are too ugly to be conversation pieces, or you're too ugly to be a conversation piece. Actually, even if both of the above are true, you're likely to snag a date at this annual First Avenue charity event. Stroll past the vendors hawking thrift-store items on the Mainroom floor, as local musicians pluck their acoustic guitars onstage. You'll find that the majority of... More »

  • 2001 | BEST ROCK CLUB

    In case you hadn't noticed, First Avenue is that Walkman next to the Target Center's boombox. It's that old black bus station that's been turned into a concert venue and dance hall. It's a former transfer point between Seattle and the East Coast that now serves as a transfer point between musical tastes. Inside, salsa royalty mingle with punks, weekenders spill drinks on scenesters, drag queens dance with rave kids. It's a commons. And now that commons is forever--or at least it won't be... More »

  • 2000 | BEST DANCE CLUB

    One never likes to damn with faint praise, but deciding the "Best Dance Club" in the Twin Cities is a little bit like deciding the "Best One-Hit Eighties Pop Star Named Tiffany"--an exercise rendered empty by its obviousness. The Front is fine for what it is--a bar with delusions of grandeur. Ground Zero's floor is far too large for even the weekend crowd, unfortunate souls with a predilection for dressing just beyond their level of comfort. People at the Gay 90's have a much higher comfort... More »

  • 2000 | BEST ROCK CLUB

    Okay, bad things first: The perennial torrent of grumbles emerging from the club make it sound about as convivial a place to work as your average gulag, a fact sneering staffers take out on anyone foolish enough to get in their way. Countless organizational shake-ups, a mess of an in-house mag, and endless political intrigue make the club a wellspring of scenester gossip. The schedule is cluttered with mediocre blues, reggae, and often interchangeable dance nights while smilin' Bill... More »

Back to TopCritic News & Reviews | Write a Review
  • Curren$y

    Curren$y

    By Nate Patrin | Wed, May 16, 2012

    A lot of MCs rap about how much they like cars, women, and weed, but New Orleans's Curren$y makes that the defining aspect of his personality. After a hot streak of great albums, from the Ski Beatz-laced Pilot Talk I and II to Alchemist teamup Cov... More »

  • St. Vincent/Shearwater

    St. Vincent/Shearwater

    By Rick Mason | Wed, May 16, 2012

    Following her tour-opening performance last fall at the Walker, this is the second coming of St. Vincent locally behind her third album, Strange Mercy, a complex, multi-dimensional musical playground of contrasting textures, helixial rhythms, and ... More »

  • Neon Indian/Lemonade/Silent Diane

    Neon Indian/Lemonade/Silent Diane

    By Erik Thompson | Wed, May 09, 2012

    Chillwave maven Neon Indian has graduated to the Mainroom a mere six months after selling out the Entry. But while albums by Neon Indian have a distinct, captivating quality to them, Alan Polomo's buoyant, synth-laden pop songs still need to find ... More »

  • Meshuggah/Baroness

    Meshuggah/Baroness

    By Erik Thompson | Wed, May 09, 2012

    Two of the finest modern metal acts — Meshuggah from Sweden and Savannah, Georgia's Baroness — are sure to lay waste to the Mainroom with their experimental, incendiary sounds. Meshuggah have embarked on what they are calling "The Ophidian Trek" i... More »

  • Spiritualized

    Spiritualized

    By Erik Thompson | Wed, May 02, 2012

    Spiritualized linchpin Jason Pierce has gone through hell while recording his last two records. He nearly died from a severe case of bilateral pneumonia in 2005 while writing the material that would become the appropriately titled Songs in A&E, an... More »

  •   Loading More Critics Reviews
Back to TopUser Reviews & Comments | Write a Review
  • Niki54
       (0)    (0)

    Niki54 | Minneapolis, MN | 40 Reviews

    | Sat, July 10, 2010

    good music, sometimes crank it REALLY loud. Classic "Minneapolis" venue, many great acts come through First Ave. think about ear plugs if you're going to see rock...

  • katrinamayer
       (0)    (0)

    katrinamayer | Valhalla, NY | 9 Reviews

    | Thu, December 17, 2009

    Best venue in the Twin Cities. Intimate, but well run.

  • I know stuff
       (0)    (0)

    I know stuff | Robbinsdale, MN | 24 Reviews

    | Tue, July 27, 2010

    Enjoy going to shows there except for all ages shows then I get stuck upstairs so that I don't have to hang out with little kids.

  •   Loading More User Reviews
Back to Top Deals | Visit The Ads

Weekly Ads

Back to TopCommunity

People Who Like First Avenue

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map   © 2012 Village Voice - All rights reserved.

Browse Voice Nation
avatar
Newsletters | Mobile
  • Voice Places

    Voice Places

    Discover restaurants, nightlife, travel, shopping...

  • VOICE Daily Deals

    VOICE Daily Deals

    Get 50 to 90% off every day on restaurants, movies, massages...

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    More than 10,000 of the BEST things to eat, drink, and experience

  • My Voice Nation

    My Voice Nation

    Join the Village Voice community and get exclusive deals and info

  • Happy Hour

    Happy Hour

    Your local Happy Hour guide at your fingertips

or

Log in or Sign up

Social Connect:

Use your favorite account to access My Voice Nation.


Use your My Voice Nation account to log in:





Forgot password?
or

Sign Up or Log in

Social Connect:

Sign up for My Voice Nation with your preferred network.


Sign up for a My Voice Nation account:



Privacy policy