Nine hours. That’s how long Rebekah Schwartz waited in line to see The 1975 play at the Carrier Dome on Friday. She arrived at the Carrier Dome at 11:45 a.m. and stayed until the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. — The 1975’s set began just after 9 p.m.

“I was so excited when I found out they were coming,” said Schwartz, a freshman biology major. Schwartz had class in the morning, then went back to her room and got her things ready before going to the Dome to stay in line until they were allowed in. 

The 1975 headlined University Union’s Rock the Dome concert Friday night. Oh Wonder supported and 070 Shake was the band’s opening act, getting the crowd ready for the British group to take the stage.

The moment audience members walked onto the dance floor, a table on their left was full of The 1975 merchandise: T-shirts, hats and sweaters, including one T-shirt design with an election theme. For more merchandise, fans also went to The Orange Shoppe — an area behind The Dome’s stands usually reserved for selling Syracuse University merchandise during sporting events. The Orange Shoppe was so full that at one point in the night, they had to have a guard out front who would let people in two or three at a time.

Many fans bought The 1975 shirts and rushed into the bathroom to immediately change into them for the concert. Others wouldn’t even bother changing — they just wore  the shirts over the clothes they already had on.

Hannah Fuller is one such fan who bought a T-shirt from The Orange Shoppe. But unlike other fans, she didn’t need to change into it — she was already wearing a shirt with the band’s trademark logo: a minimalistic rectangle with “The 1975” in the middle.” She didn’t need another shirt — she just wanted one.

“The 1975 is my absolute favorite band,” said Fuller, 25, who lives in north Syracuse and last saw The 1975 play in a few months ago in Philadelphia. “I always thought that I would have to travel to see them live, and then someone sent this link about the concert to me, and I freaked the f*ck out when I found out they were coming. I couldn’t believe they were coming to my backyard.”

As if one night of The 1975 wasn’t enough, Friday was Morgan Burbank’s second night in a row attending one of the band’s concerts.

Just the night before on Thursday, Burbank, 20, was in Toronto, Canada, where The 1975 had stopped for their world tour. She had already bought tickets for the Toronto show in July, and once she heard they were coming to the Dome, she decided she would go because it was so close to her home in Liverpool.

Though The 1975 has always been one of her favorite bands, Thursday’s show in Toronto and Friday’s show at the Carrier Dome marked Burbank’s first and second times seeing the band live.

“I just like that they’re so different from everything else. They played interludes tonight, for example — just songs without words,” Burbank said. “Other big bands wouldn’t do that. They’re unique and different and just passionate about their shows.”

Published on November 5, 2016 at 12:53 am

Contact Clare: clramire@syr.edu