By Rachel Zarrell

No tears fell at Centennial Commons this weekend as emo-rockers Brand New performed for more than 2,000 students, headlining PIKEtoberfest, an all-day event sponsored by the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

The event, which was held Saturday, featured an activities fair for 43 student groups, a barbecue and additional performances by local acts Endway and Gone Baby Gone. Both groups played short sets throughout the day, entertaining a growing crowd of hipsters and Greeks with energetic pop-punk. They performed from a stage set between Meserve and Shillman halls and adorned the the fraternity’s logo.

By the time Brand New took the helm at 6 p.m., the crowd had doubled in size. Opening with “Sowing Season,” the group performed for about 45 minutes, running through some older tunes and several songs from its latest album, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me.

The crowd erupted during new song “Degausser” as well as hits like “Okay I Believe You but My Tommy Gun Don’t,” and “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades.”

“It’s not really about PIKE, it’s about everyone else coming and having a good time,” said Ed Dunne, the chapter’s vice president. “If there’s some bad stigma for our fraternity, that’s not how it really is.”

Many students, like freshmen Courtney Bednaz, said they came for the lead act.

“I like all the bands, but I’m here for Brand New, obviously,” said Bednaz, an undecided major. “I think that’s what we’re all waiting for.”

Council for University Programs ming President Scott Hultman, whose group participated in the event, said he thought PIKEtoberfest was raising the bar for campus entertainment. “I think it gives us a little push to make SpringFest even better this year,” he said.

Other student group leaders, who peddled school spirit from tables near the back of the crowd, were mixed about their participation in the event, which came together over six months and was allotted about $75,000 in funding from the Student Activities Fee as a means to bring all student groups together to welcome the Northeastern community to campus.

Factoring in costs like paying the acts to providing the stage, lighting and sound, little to none of the allocated funding was devoted to resources for bringing other student groups into the fold, according to a review of the proposal from the Budget Review Committee, adding some to question whether the event, although successful in attendance, was carried out in its intended form.

“I wish we had a little more say [in the events], but what are you going to do,” said Dave Church, vice president of public relations for the NEU Biology Club, who were among many groups asked to rotate tables in shifts during the day.

Margaret Kamara, president of Northeastern African Student Association (NASO), echoed his sentiment.

“Being that it’s the first [year], I feel like I should be good to it and say that it’s a really good program,” Kamara said. “I feel like there should be more diversity within this … maybe [they should have] more artists that are more toward the other type of crowd, not just white America and the mainstream.”

But Jaclyn Snell, the hospitality representative for the Catholic Center at NU, said her group had “plenty to say in what was going to happen.”

The fraternity “had very open meetings and we could contribute if we wanted to and give suggestions,” Snell said. “They were really open to that.”

Garrett Tierney, bassist for Brand New, said he also left the show satisfied. “I would definitely come back,” he said. “We haven’t played in awhile, but I enjoyed it very much, actually.”

The other musical acts, including Morgan Dorr of Endway, said they were glad to be part of the event.

“I think that [Pi Kappa Alpha] really set this place up well,” Dorr said. “I couldn’t be happier to play with these bands here today.”

Despite the large crowd, Paul Johnson, an EMT worker on the scene, said only one minor injury was reported during the concert.

David Jarmel, a fraternity member who also worked security, added: “We had a lot more people out here than we had ever anticipated. There was a mosh pit that was in control, as much as you can be for a mosh pit, but other than that it went smoothly.”

By the end of the show, event organizers were already considering how to improve the event for next year.

“Maybe we can have a better location than Centennial so we can have more people,” said fraternity member Nick Gately. “Or two headlining acts that everyone is really stoked about. Maybe each year we can have a different genre. We’re open and we really want to hear what students have to say.”