As the lights went off, the crowd started to scream, cameras started to flash and the Plain White T’s began to play.

The group played “”It’s Our Time Now”” to kick off ASUA’s second sponsored concert of the semester last night in front of an estimated 1,500 at Centennial Hall, saving its hit, “”Hey There Delilah,”” for performance’s end.

Ryanhood, a popular local band, opened for the T’s, ending 10 minutes before the Plain White T’s came onstage at 8:30 p.m.

“”I was here for the Plain White T’s, but I fell in love with Ryanhood today,”” said Kayla Dunard, an undeclared freshman who has been a T’s fan for about a year.

Ruben Aguirre, a media arts sophomore, said he started listening to the T’s because of his roommate.

“”I can’t pick a favorite song because I like them all,”” he said.

Other concert-goers expressed different motives for attending the show.

Kesha Mathews, an Arizona State University biology junior, is dating T’s guitarist Dave Tirio.

“”I travel with them occasionally, usually when they are in Arizona or during spring break,”” she said.

Mathews began dating Tirio in January, after she met him the previous October at a Scottsdale restaurant following one of the group’s shows.

“”Me and my friends pretended to be groupies,”” she said.

Chris Love, a musician and friend of the band, said he is impressed by the band’s ascension to national headliner status.

“”They have come so far,”” he said.

Others were not as impressed.

“”(It was) better then I thought,”” said Ted Willis, an undeclared freshman. “”I’d go again, but I probably wouldn’t pay. I don’t like the song ‘Hey There Delilah.’ I was hoping they would play other songs.””

Annalisa Tucker, a UA alumna, said she was just there for “”Delilah”” and had never heard any of the band’s other
songs before.

“”If they played (“”Delilah””) first, we were going to leave,”” she said.

About 1,500 tickets, each ranging from $12-25, were sold to fill the 2,500-seat hall, said Andrew Stanley, ASUA events director. He said an exact attendance figure could not be verified until today.

The Centennial crowd was above average for a T’s performance, said Mark Thomas, a promoter of the band.

ASUA has about $80,000 available to sponsor special events and concerts this year, Stanley said, although he could not specify how much was spent to bring the T’s to campus.

Head Automatica headlined Catfest, ASUA’s first sponsored concert on campus this semester, on Aug. 24.