Starting with Prince, First Avenue photographer chronicled rise of Twin Cities music scene

Daniel Corrigan is First Avenue's assistant facilities manager, unofficial tour guide, occasional stagehand, sometimes security guard and official photographer.

With camera in hand, he's been smashed in the head by Iggy Pop's microphone, stuck in an elevator with the Replacements and scrunched in a van with Babes in Toyland. All in the name of capturing the decisive moment for an album cover, promo photo or story in some publication.

After more than three decades, Corrigan, 58, has published an attractive, comprehensive book of more than 500 photos, "Heyday: 35 Years of Music in Minneapolis," which covers everyone from U2 and Michael Jackson to Dessa and Hippo Campus (with text by Danny Sigelman).

Nowadays, Corrigan shoots six to 10 concerts a month for First Avenue, usualy from the upstairs VIP booth. Before that, he shot regularly for City Pages and the University of Minnesota's Minnesota Daily, where he got his start. Like an airport tarmac worker, he always wears large headphones at shows because his ears got blasted at an AC/DC gig back in the day.

The Minneapolis photographer credits Josh Leventhal of the Minnesota Historical Society Press for choosing among tens of thousands of negatives and digital files. In fact, he hadn't even seen some of the images until they wound up in the book.

"My career is fraught with mistakes that went well," says Corrigan. We've gathered a few of his favorite mistakes here.

Corrigan, of Minneapolis, told the stories behind some of the images.

They were playing at Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota. "They were squirrelly as hell," Corrigan recalled. "It was totally planned to get them in an elevator and hit the stop button between floors. I shot 20 to 24 frames and only four were usable. A happy mistake. Adding elements of randomness and chaos is a technique I've used from the start."

Prince, 1981

"I shot Prince six times — four times at First Avenue," Corrigan said. "Two things I tell people: 1) He was teeny-tiny and 2) how good he was as a guitar player. I've never seen anyone with such complete mastery."

Lifter Puller, 1999

The band was playing at a house party near Franklin and Lyndale in Minneapolis and the people who lived there had a beauty salon. "It was totally spontaneous," Corrigan recalled. "Those were props that happened to be there. It was just an opportunity."

One of the band members had an idea to bring a bunch of toy dolls to the photo shoot for the cover of "Spanking Machine." Corrigan built scaffolding in his photo studio so he could shoot from overhead. He ended up using multiple camera formats.

The jazz giant was notorious for not facing his audience when he performed. Corrigan stood by the side of the stage and captured Davis when he turned.

Because there was no barrier in front of the stage or special arrangements for photographers back then, Corrigan arrived early to the sold-out Duffy's (a south Minneapolis rock club) and camped right in front of Iggy's microphone. The singer inadvertently hit Corrigan in the head with the mic stand but the crowd buoyed the photographer and kept him standing. "The crowd pushed me forward and Iggy actually grabbed my chin right before I hit the stage," Corrigan recalled. "He looked me in the eye like 'Dude, are you OK?' and I swear he didn't miss a beat."

"It was three songs of terror," Corrigan said referring to the limitations placed on photographers. "I shot four rolls with two cameras. You're so focused you're tuned out from the experience. I'm glad I have these pictures. I don't have any clear recollection of the experience."

Corrigan took the band to the home of Anita Stinson, mother of two guys in the 'Mats. He shot them practicing in the basement, on a staircase, in the hallway and on the roof — all in less than two hours. "I'm super-fast. I don't work with assistants or stylists." Corrigan stood on top of the band's van to capture the four musicians and the Stinson dog on the roof. One frame ended up as the cover shot for the album "Let It Be."

The photographers were stationed behind the musicians' mixing board — far away from the stage. "My long lens was not long enough," Corrigan recalled. "That show is famous among Dead tapers for the worst sounding show the Dead ever did."

Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719