Purple and gold lights flickered, mixing with the fog drifting down from the ceiling onto the stage below.
Frenzied chatter, accompanied by the flashes from selfies being taken, filled John R. Emens Auditorium Wednesday night in anticipation of The Fray.
Theresa Wrynn and Madeline Grosh, both freshman pre-med majors, stood against the balcony railing. Joined by I.U. freshman William Redd, spanish major, they hoped to capture the stage in the background of their photograph.
At show time, Emens rang out with cheers as the lights went down and The Mowgli's took the stage.
"Let's hit the trail, kid..." played over the speakers and The Mowgli's began to play.
Once off, stage attendants prepped for the main event. The lights were changed, drums were tested and equipment was surrounded by silver-painted cubes by black-clad stage hands.
This time when Emens went dark, the cheers erupted throughout the entire auditorium and The Fray's opening music began to play. The cheers from students grew even louder and everyone got to their feet.
"She's so fierce and full of fire..." echoed from the band's lead singer Isaac Slade, the first line of the song "Closer to Me," from their new album "Helios."
Slade greeted Ball state during the band's second song, impressed by students' cheers and singing along, later commenting, "Ball State...damn."
For its third song, The Fray played "You Found Me," increasing the amount of students singing the lyrics.
Getting up close and personal with the students on the ground floor, Slade walked along the edge of the pit, moving throughout the crowd by stepping on the arms of seats. Students helped Slade keep his balance and he kept the energy up during all of his interactions.
Near the end of the concert, Slade reminisced about how the band all were once in college, too.
"We were trying to figure out what the f—k to do with our lives," Slade said.
He continued to talk about once the band officially formed and recorded its first song, its experience hearing it premiere on the radio for the first time. The Fray originally went to Slade's house to hear the song, but his radio was broken.
Since Slade was living with his parents, they piled into his mom's minivan, leaving the door open for a slight breeze, and listened to "How to Save a Life," which came out ten years ago.
The Fray plans to continue on their "Helios" tour to South America, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
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