Turnstile is rock's most exciting live band right now. Its sold-out Milwaukee show proved it.

Pieces of yellow paper were scattered across the floor of the Rave Thursday night, where hardcore punk band Turnstile played a sold-out show.

It wasn’t confetti from their concert. They were notes handed out to showgoers that read “No Moshing" in bold black type.

But the band's fans would not be deterred. A large portion of the crowd on the Rave’s packed Eagles Ballroom floor lived by their own rule: Only Moshing.

(It was only respectful moshing, I should add. Chaotic as mosh pits seem, people typically look out for each other to ensure no one is hurt, and from my vantage point front and center on the balcony, there were no health or safety issues. The band members even handed out water bottles to people in the front.)

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Widespread defiance of the "No Moshing" notes was to be expected. One of the immeasurable number of things COVID-19 took from us — the cathartic, communal joy of a sweaty punk show — was definitely missed.

And just as concerts started coming back last summer, Baltimore-based Turnstile emerged with their explosive and uplifting third album, "Glow On," which ended up on scores of critics' best albums lists for 2021.

Word spread rapidly that their live shows behind the album were wild, can't-miss experiences — one fan reportedly even went to the bathroom in the mosh pit at a California gig — and Turnstile quickly rose from the small clubs and DIY shows they had played for the better part of a decade to selling out larger rooms and performing a packed set at Coachella.

So Thursday, as soon as the mystic keys of "Glow On" track "Mystery" gave way to Brady Ebert and Pat McCrory's thrashing guitars, Franz Lyon's heavy bass grooves and Daniel Fang's pummeling drums, the floor of the Eagles Ballroom transformed into a human pinball machine — and soon after that, a few whirlpools. Water and plastic bottles went flying, and crowd surfing started within a couple of minutes.

The energy rarely let up across the subsequent hour, with only one quieter song, "Alien Love Call" featuring buzzy R&B artist Blood Orange, in the 18-song set.

Frequently, the show was even more intense. Drummer Fang earned the right to be shirtless from the start. Early in the set, on "Glow On" standout "Blackout," he mustered up super-human strength and played even faster than the blistering recording.

And frontman Brendan Yates ripped off his shirt soon after that — a humble tee that read "Thank You."

Beyond his yelping vocals, Yates was the primary physical manifestation of the band's unstoppable music, constantly shifting his feet and swaying his body like a mixed martial artist champion, and unleashing leaps and spinning kicks like one, too. Ebert, McCrory and Lyon frequently played with their full bodies as well.

But Turnstile's members aren't just masters of unbridled punk-rock energy. On "Glow On," they expanded their ambitions and incorporated more musical elements you'd never expect to hear from a mosh pit, the curveballs creating more excitement in the process.

Thursday highlight "Wild Wrld" began with the kind of polyrhythmic, cowbell-smacking percussion you'd expect from Talking Heads, before the heavier drums and thrash guitars took over. And "Underwater Boi," another "Glow On" track, began Thursday with Yates' calm, a cappella singing, preceding mellow, stoner-rock guitar washes and a sprinkle of '80s-style electronic percussion pops during the chorus.

That song was a key example of Turnstile's occasional less-is-more philosophy. On "Boi," the chugging guitars are itching to break out and sprint free, but they never quite do, and you could see the tension from the restraint coursing through Ebert and McCrory's bodies like an electric current. Similarly, an earlier track from their discography Thursday, the Rage Against The Machine-evoking "Fazed Out," intensified when the tempo shifted to a sluggish dirge.

And for the set's climactic "Holiday," the music briefly cooled, and Yates took a knee to quietly sing. Pulling back made the crowd more combustible. They swiftly clapped in sync through the calm, before erupting when the full-rock assault returned.

After that song, and Yates' brief expression of thanks and "life is too short" philosophizing, the show ended with what's become a mission statement of sorts, "T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection)."

"I want to thank you for letting me see myself," Yates, and the crowd, yelled. "I want to thank you for letting me be myself."

The band soon disappeared, the song going through one of those unorthodox Turnstile twists, as the ambient, electronic arrangement from the track played over the speakers.

And at that moment, the moshers finally complied with those yellow notes, cheering, whistling, throwing up their arms and hugging their friends in euphoric bliss.

The takeaways

• Signaling early on that they're not your average hardcore punk band, Turnstile used a recording of Whitney Houston's "I Want to Dance With Somebody" as their pre-show warmup music, with fans gleefully dancing and singing along all over the ballroom.

• Turnstile may have played for just an hour, but fans still got plenty of show Thursday. They brought along not one or two but four openers — Truth Cult, Ekulu, Ceremony and Citizen — amounting to about two hours and 45 minutes of music.

• Turnstile sold out the Eagles Ballroom, which at full capacity has room for about 3,500 people. But it was a partial-room configuration Thursday, with the stage in the center of the floor (and a few fans taking advantage of the empty permanent stage and using it as their dance floor.) I have no doubt that, with the word of mouth after their Milwaukee show, Turnstile will be able to sell out the full Eagles Ballroom the next time they come to town.

The setlist

1. "Mystery"

2. "Real Thing"

3. "Big Smile"

4. "Blackout"

5. "Underwater Boi"

6. "Don't Play"

7. "Endless"

8. "No Surprise"

9. "Fazed Out"

10. "Drop"

11. "Blue by You"

12. "Canned Heat"

13. "Fly Again"

14. "Moon"

15. "Alien Love Call"

16. "Wild Wrld"

17. "Holiday"

18. "T. L. C. (Turnstile Love Connection)"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Turnstile, rock's most exciting live band, proves it at Milwaukee show