Star Tribune photo by Jerry Holt First Avenue is ending its relationship with Ticketmaster as of April 1. This is not an April Fool's joke. With its long-standing Ticketmaster deal expiring, the vaunted Twin Cities club is switching to eTix. First Ave general manager Nate Kranz promises more efficiency and smaller fees. He predicts that handling fees will drop by 20 to 40 percent, depending on the show. First Avenue will continue to use the same outlets, including Electric Fetus, Roadrunner, Down in the Valley, Treehouse, Fifth Element and the Depot Tavern -- as well as etix.com and 800-514-3849. Other Twin Cities venues have eschewed Ticketmaster, the dominant ticketing agency since the early 1990s. The Varsity and Triple Rock use TicketFly, Cedar Cultural Center and the 400 Bar work with TicketWeb, and the Cabooze with TicketFusion.
