The Fray played songs from their hit album How to Save a Life to a sold-out crowd in Centennial Hall last night.

Students in the audience held up lighters and sang along to songs including””Cable Car (Over my Head)”” and “”She Is”” during The Fray’s performance.

“”The band was really interested in playing for college students,”” Hertzog said, “”so we knew they were going to add to the atmosphere.””

Members of the band, whose bassist Dave Welsh is from Tucson, said they walked the campus prior to the show, playing baseball and football.

“”We miss college,”” Welsh said.

During a section of the show the band dubbed “”MVP time,”” Welsh’s parents, both UA alumni, were brought onstage to play tambourines during “”Cable Car.””

“”It was really cool that they checked out the campus, and that they brought Dave’s parents onstage,”” said Heather Evans, a public management senior.

The band played a mixture of songs from its debut album, adding in cover songs such as the Beatles’ “”Eleanor Rigby.””

The band was “”fun, nice and easygoing”” and brought their own ping-pong table emblazoned with their name, which was set up to the side of the stage, said Kristen Maryn, ASUA special events director.

“”It was a great concert,”” said Amy Menezes, an undeclared freshman. “”It was awesome that the UA was able to get such a big band here.””

Maryn said she would like to continue to draw bands like The Fray to the UA.

“”We really want to make the UA an attractive place for bands to come and perform,”” Maryn said.

ASUA is planning a large-scale performance in McKale Center sometime next semester, though no acts have been confirmed yet, Hertzog said.

The upcoming concert could potentially generate money that would be used toward scholarships and club funding, Hertzog said, although ASUA did not generate any revenue from The Fray’s concert.

“”It’s really hard to make a profit at Centennial Hall shows because there are so few seats, so we really have to make sure we have a big-name band in order to sell out,”” Hertzog said.

She said 2,300 tickets were sold for the show.

Aside from Death Cab for Cutie, tickets for The Fray sold faster than any other ASUA-sponsored concert, said ASUA chief of staff Tommy Bruce.

Matt Breslow, a finance junior, said The Fray’s concert was one of the best concerts he has ever seen.

The show ended with a three-song encore, including the hit song “”How to Save a Life.””

After the performance, the band walked over to Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich, 749 N. Park Ave., with a group of about 100 students in tow, Hertzog said.

“”I am so glad that I was able to get tickets,”” said Tori Cates, a pre-business freshman. “”It was just what I thought it would be: perfect.””