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Florence Welch performs at the Comerica Theatre, April 20, 2012. (Photo by Cheman Cuan)

Make no mistake about it: Florence Welch is a diva. Welch’s April 20 performance transcended beyond a musical set into an opera-esque drama.

Her emotions and movements swayed back and forth with the music as her genuine joy throughout the evening showed how truly happy she was to be onstage singing her self-written songs — all without ever putting shoes on.

Florence and the Machine stopped at Comerica Theatre Friday as part of a quick loop around the Southwest. After her headlining performance at Coachella last weekend, Welch and crew played several shows in the weeklong gap between both legs of the festival.

The British indie-pop band skyrocketed to fame in 2009 following its debut album “Lungs.” The critically acclaimed freshman performance earned them numerous accolades, including a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.

Their sophomore album, “Ceremonials,” picked up where “Lungs” left off, solidifying the band’s stardom.

With Phoenix being Welch’s first stop in Arizona, the crowd was both excited and apprehensive about the performance. If the sold-out crowd of 5,500 was any indication, fans came out in droves to witness the British singer and songwriter.

The crowd consisted of couples and families of all ages dominating the venue. Welch must have brought out eccentric style in her fans, as the audience was certainly dressed to impress.

After opener Blood Orange started the evening off, the fashionable crowd cheered immensely once Welch arrived onstage. She started with “Only If For A Night,” immediately capturing the audience’s attention.

She took the stage wearing a cape-like gown, proceeding to twirl and dance along with the music for the first few songs before eventually taking it off.

As Welch explored the space, running back and forth, concertgoers by the stage reached out for her, showing how just a touch would be a defining experience.

The tragic beauty in her songs completely captivated the crowd. A single spotlight followed the redheaded frontwoman in the song “Cosmic Love” as her fragile and delicate voice silenced the audience.

Just as the crowd was left as vulnerable as the lyrics in her songs, she then showed her versatility in songs like “Spectrum,” firing up the masses with her strong and powerful presence.

To perform a set as well as Welch did is difficult, but to complete it in front of a large audience can provide a  tougher challenge. This clearly is not an obstacle for Welch after her experience headlining Coachella. She connected with the audience by persuading men to raise women on their shoulders for “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up).”

Describing herself as an English vampire, Welch joked about her pale complexion in the Arizona sun.

After receiving a five-minute standing ovation and overwhelming applause following her set, Welch returned to the stage for an encore performance. Starting with their cover of  “You Got the Love,” her vocals served as a prime example of her ability to transition from soft to powerful throughout the evening.

Closing her 90-minute set with the single “No Light, No Light” proved to be one of her most skillfully performed songs of the night. Welch played a single drum with a fierce intensity before eventually taking over vocals and leaving the audience more than satisfied.

The final line of her last song went, “Tell me what you want me to say,” and Welch expressed more than anything the audience could have ever asked for Friday night, leaving her exhilarated concertgoers with chills.

Reach the reporter at

mbobman@asu.edu

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About 28,000 participants showed support for the Pat Tillman Foundation on Saturday morning at the eighth annual Pat’s Run, a 4.2 mile course around Tempe to raise money for military and Tillman Scholars-ASU Leadership Through Action program. (Photo by Lisa Bartoli)

About 28,000 people were outfitted with the number 42 to honor fallen soldier and former ASU football player Corporal Patrick Tillman at Tempe’s eighth annual Pat’s Run on Saturday.

Participants began the 4.2-mile course Saturday morning outside of the Sun Devil Stadium and finished at the 42-yard line on Frank Kush Field.  Sunday marked the anniversary of Tillman’s death.

As a senior in 1997, Tillman helped ASU football make it to the Rose Bowl after an undefeated season. The Arizona Cardinals selected him as the 226th pick in the 1998 NFL Draft after he was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Eight months after 9/11, Tillman and his brother Kevin enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Tillman was killed by friendly fire in April 2004 while serving in Afghanistan.

Accounting and finance senior Susan Eckman said crossing the 42-yard line to finish the race four years in a row is a “euphoric” feeling.

“It makes you stop and think when you do cross, you know you made it and honored Pat,” she said.

The Pat Tillman Foundation, created by the soldier’s friends and family in 2004, sponsors the run each year.

The foundation offers scholarships through its Tillman Military Scholars program, specifically for students in the armed forces.

Eckman received a scholarship through the Foundation’s Tillman Scholars-ASU Leadership Through Action program, which students participate in throughout their four years of college. The program involves taking specific classes, including one on Tillman’s life.

Eckman and nursing senior Laura Kinahan are the first of the program’s graduates to participate for all four years.

“The Pat Tillman Foundation, for us, has really embodied our college experience,” Eckman said.

Kinahan said the foundation has been a huge part of her college career.

“Both programs are helping to build personal growth in young adults to become leaders based on the ideals of Pat Tillman,” Kinahan said.

She said she enjoyed seeing people support Pat’s Run by registering to participate.

“We are here for one reason, and it’s cool to see 28,000 people here for Pat’s legacy,” Kinahan said.

Kinesiology and Spanish junior Kat Lichtsinn, who has spent three years in the Tillman Scholars-ASU program, said she felt inspired when she saw people holding signs for their loved ones in the military.

“It’s great to support military that served for our country,” Lichtsinn said.

She said she learned about Tillman’s “down-to-earth” attitude in the class she took as part of the program and felt a connection to that side of his personality at the run.

“I liked how he was himself and he didn’t try to conform to what people thought he would be,” she said.

She found it interesting that Tillman would show up to football practice riding a bike while his Cardinal teammates drove Ford Mustangs, Lichtsinn said.

ASU alumnus Kyle Wilson said it was his second time running in the event.

“I never run faster than I do on the day of Pat’s Run,” Wilson said.

He said he remembers people’s shock upon hearing about Tillman’s death and the somberness it created throughout the Valley.

“Even prior to his death, he was looked to as a shining example of Arizona,” Wilson said.

Reach the reporter at thaniab@asu.edu

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Teams of fraternities and sororities participated in a chariot race during Greek Week opening ceremonies Monday. Fraternities and sororities are spending this week bonding with other Greek organizations and performing community service. (Photo by Shawn Raymundo)

Some fraternities have recovered from University sanctions with the help of their national organizations, while others faced more serious consequences for violating the ASU code of conduct.

Alpha Epsilon Pi

Computer information systems sophomore Adam Train chose ASU over other universities because its chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi was large and had its own fraternity house.

Both of these aspects were gone before his freshman year ended.

Shortly after Train pledged with Alpha Epsilon Pi in fall 2010, the chapter’s University recognition was revoked because of several alcohol and hazing violations.

When Train was a pledge, he was unaware of these allegations from pledge classes before him.

“I didn’t even really know what was happening,” he said.

At the time he pledged, the chapter was on University probation for hazing — something Train said he never saw any of his brothers do.

He said ASU mistook some of Alpha Epsilon Pi’s actions, like requiring pledges to wear
white dress shirts on Wednesdays, as evidence of hazing.

“If the school wants to say that’s hazing, I guess they can,” Train said. “I loved the brothers while I was pledging, but when you are on probation you are put under that microscope and, if you have any little mess-up, you can be penalized for that.”

Train said the national organization continued to support the fraternity despite losing University recognition.

“We still held chapter meetings every week. We still threw brotherhood events,” Train said. “Even if the school doesn’t recognize you, you can’t tell a group of people not to be friends.”

The national organization reorganized Alpha Epsilon Pi after the fraternity lost its University recognition.

In early 2011, the national chapter removed most of the sophomores, juniors and seniors from the chapter, leaving only Train’s pledge class and any subsequent classes.

Alpha Epsilon Pi Executive Director Andrew Borans said the ASU chapter expects a large pledge class in the fall and has been growing strong.

“I’ll speak only to the current and future,” Borans said. “The chapter is doing extremely well now.”

ASU recognized the chapter again in January, although it is still barred from hosting social events with sororities or alcohol.

Train said he is optimistic about the fraternity’s future.

“As much as it kind of stinks to have to go through what we went through, I think we’re dealing with it in the best way possible,” Train said.

Sigma Pi

Other fraternities have not been so fortunate.

Sigma Pi was placed on disciplinary probation in August 2010 following a party where alcohol was provided to minors.

In February 2011, right after this probation ended, the University received another complaint regarding multiple reports of underage drinking, minor in consumption violations and medical transports for excessive alcohol drinking.

ASU again suspended the chapter in March 2011 following this complaint.

The international organization pulled the ASU Sigma Pi chapter’s charter in June 2011 after repeated risk management violations, failures to register members and financial delinquency.

In a March 2012 press release, then Sigma Pi Executive Director Mark Briscoe said Sigma Pi has high standards for chapter conformity.

“Unfortunately, it became apparent that these standards were not adhered to at (ASU),” Briscoe said. “We were forced with revocation.”

Sigma Chi

Sigma Chi has also rebounded from disciplinary sanctions.

Sigma Chi violated several different ASU policies between 2003 and 2008, ranging from hazing and drug use to an accusation that two former fraternity members sexually assaulted a fellow student in February 2008.

Since then, Sigma Chi has improved its relationship with ASU and its national organization.

Sigma Chi Executive Director Mike Dunn said the national organization has worked with the ASU fraternity chapter extensively and it has moved away from its past issues.

“We’re very proud of the work they do,” Dunn said. “The things they’ve done in terms of fundraising are incredible. We continue to challenge them to do even better.”

Members of Sigma Chi and other ASU fraternities are trying to improve campus Greek life.

Sigma Chi brother Jacob Goulding, a political science senior and the Tempe Undergraduate Student Government president, said in an email that fraternities have done a lot this year but still have a long way to go.

“I think we need to establish an honest vision for where Greek life stands at ASU and how to go about implementing that vision,” Goulding said.

Reach the reporters at julia.shumway@asu.edu and dgrobmei@asu.edu

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(Photo by Jenn Allen)

(Photos by Jenn Allen)

The Underground Foundation at ASU presented Clusterfest, a music and art festival, on Hayden Lawn Saturday, April 14. Attracting hundreds of diverse students and community members throughout the day, the event showcased local music, poetry, mixed media and live art with featured artists including Ellie Craze, Dakota Gidley and Davina Kumar.