On Dec. 10 at 5:30 a.m., I got up from my bed, put my makeup on, curled my hair and hopped in my car to make the journey to The Rave in Milwaukee. I don’t often get up early on weekends, but this day I had an excuse. I was going to wait in line for 12 hours, on the cold, snowy streets of Wisconsin, all to have the best chance to get a great view of my favorite band in concert.

The 1975 announced their North America tour earlier this year, and as a long time fan of the band, I grabbed tickets as soon as I could. The tour entitled “The 1975 At Their Very Best” began in early November, and it was advertised as a piece of performance art, a social commentary on state of masculinity, drug abuse, love and politics. It was a far cry from the band’s original alt-rock concerts, but I was excited nonetheless.

The venue began letting people in at around 6 p.m., fans began flooding the floor, and it became very clear the concert was oversold, as, despite the intimate nature of the small building, thousands of fans were packed like sardines in the halls. However, my decision to camp paid off as I found myself standing in the third row.

The building was stifling hot and overcrowded but there was an exhilarating atmosphere amongst all the fans, the crowd was bouncing with excitement as the lights dimmed and the finally band took stage.

“The thing about us ladies and gentlemen, is we just keep getting better,” the band’s frontman Matty Healy said. The audience roared in agreement as the band transited into, “It’s Not Living (If it’s Not With You).” There was a sort of confidence radiating from the band the whole night.

They’re not afraid to be egotistical, and they love being The 1975 as much as you love listening to them- especially Healy. He chained smoke cigarettes, took swigs from a flask and danced across the stage all night.

The concert had its peak during their performance of “Robbers”, a fan favorite song. He leaned into the crowd, and he was close enough to me for me to grab his arm- which was a very surreal moment as a longtime fan. He took a swig of wine and spit back onto the crowd, as it hit my face I felt quite disgusted- but it seems like everyone else loved it.

The band got the crowd to die down after the song ended, Healy sat down and began to speak to the audience. He mentioned Milwaukee’s show wasn’t like any others he would be doing on tour. The venue lacked the theatrics the band required for the full performance so the setlist would be cut short.

Despite the concert’s cut showtime The 1975 did not hold back in their performances, the member’s crowd surfed, pulled fans onstage and managed to play all of their greatest hits. Healy allowed the crowd to decide which song he would end Act 1 of the show with.

“Scream for “A Change of Heart” or scream for “Paris” we’ll play whatever you want,” Healy said. The crowd selected the latter and the band obliged, beginning the song with Healy stating, “This is a song from a seventeen-year-old me to a seventeen-year-old you.”

Though the show did not deliver in the advertised performance art aspect of the concert due to the venue’s constraints, it was more than made up for in stage presence and audience interaction. The show ended after twenty-two songs at a run-time of around two hours. The 1975 said their goodbyes and the crowd departed- I even managed to snag a guitar pick from the band on my way out.

The concert was one of the best I have ever attended, with my only complaint being the crowd. There were several times during the set where I was pushed, cussed at and knocked over, several fans passed out and the high prices of water and food only contributed to that. The venue clearly oversold the concert leading to safety concerns.

Regardless, once the show ended The 1975 left me and several other fans reminded that they are one incredible band to see live.