7th St. Entry's legendary stage is now for sale – in 380 pieces

First Avenue is inventing new ways of making money during pandemic.

October 24, 2020 at 9:45PM
The entry to 7th St. Entry first opened in 1980 when its sister club was still known as Sam's.
The entry to 7th St. Entry first opened in 1980 when its sister club was still known as Sam's. (Chris Riemenschneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Want to own a piece of one of the most storied stages in the Twin Cities? It'll cost you $200 and probably an ignorance of who GG Allin was.

In its latest lemonade-out-of-lemons, revenue-squeezing scheme to stay afloat during the pandemic, First Avenue is now selling framed pieces of the old 7th St. Entry stage, which was torn out and replaced over the past few months while both its main room and the adjoining kid-sister club remain closed due to the pandemic.

About 380 pieces of the unimaginably worn old black platform have been cut into 7-inch square pieces, which the club is framing and selling on its website.

Buyers have the option of getting their slab of local music history with an all-white matte or a black matte featuring the names of dozens of the thousands of acts that performed on it over the years.

Among them: Prince, the Strokes, Fugazi, Billie Eilish, St. Vincent, the Shins, Death Grips, Tricky, Atmosphere, Macklemore, K. Flay, Black Uhuru, the Hold Steady and, of course, the local legends who broke it in, including Curtiss A, the Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, Babes in Toyland, Cows and Run Westy Run. Oddly enough, notorious punk showman Allin is not listed.

The newly sliced-and-diced stage isn't the original one from when the club first opened in March 1980 — back then, bands actually performed where the Entry's bar is now — but it's still mighty old, built in 1984.

Saturday, there will be an ultra-low-capacity edition of the club's popular Halloween dance party in the First Ave main room.

General manager Nate Kranz likened it to a test flight for future small-audience excursions. Plans are gestating to host sporadic livestreamed concerts with an in-person crowd of less than 5% of the club's 1,500-person capacity.

"We've spent countless hours creating our plan and then going over everything with a fine-toothed comb so we can do this in a way that is safe for the staff and the guests," Kranz said.

In the meantime, First Ave also greatly expanded its merchandise options to create new revenue streams during the COVID-19 closure, including items related to this year's spoiled-for-now 50th anniversary plans.

The club even recently threw out an offer to host small weddings on its hallowed stages — or at least the main-room stage still qualifying as such. That new Entry stage should become legendary soon enough once live music can finally return in full.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

Twitter: @ChrisRstrib

Pieces of the 7th St. Entry stage are now for sale on First Avenue's website after a new one was built during the pandemic.
Pieces of the 7th St. Entry stage are now for sale on First Avenue's website after a new one was built during the pandemic. (Chris Riemenschneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Patrons watched Sharief perform at the 7th St. Entry in Minneapolis on Sunday night. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ cgonzalez@startribune.com - March 16, 2014 â€" Minneapolis, Minn., First Avenue 7 th St. Entry, An ordinance slated for a hearing at City Hall would require Minneapolis bars and restaurants with live music and dancing to carry earplugs. The sponsor, Council Member Jacob Frey, said the earplugs would be provided -- free of charge -- by a private company.
Songwriter Sharif performed at 7th St. Entry in 2014. First Avenue is exploring revenue options during its COVID-19 closure. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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