Pop band The Apples in Stereo brought a little bit of much-needed sunshine Tuesday night to a winter-ravaged ISU campus.

“The world is made of energy,” sang Apples’ front man Robert Schneider- and the atmosphere of the Maintenance Shop in the Memorial Union was no exception, as the sold-out crowd buzzed with excitement before and during the set.

Keyboardist John Ferguson started off The Apples in Stereo’s set by stepping onstage in full silver spaceman gear to perform an appropriately spacey synthesized piece.

The band effortlessly breezed through older songs and selections from the recently released “New Magnetic Wonder.” Schneider’s guitar hooks, while somewhat simplistic and familiar-sounding, were executed with such precision and confidence that they sounded fresh and exhilarating.

“We tend to be very splashy, raucous, chaotic, psychedelic . We like to have fun onstage,” Schneider said.

Schneider’s vocals were backed by the sun-soaked, Beach Boys-esque harmonies of Ferguson and keyboardist Bill Doss, formerly of The Olivia Tremor Control, a group closely associated with The Apples in Stereo and The Elephant Six Collective. Doss and Ferguson were added to the lineup last year. This is the first time the band has toured as a six-piece in its 15-year span, Schneider said.

“With the six-piece setup, we’re able to do a lot more stuff from the album,” said bassist Eric Allen. “It’s probably closer than anything we’ve been able to do before.”

Schneider likened the band’s live shows to a train traveling along the top of a mountain, derailing, falling down the mountain and then miraculously landing right-side-up on the tracks and chugging along for an amazing finish.

His metaphor proved to be true as the highlight of the night came when the band closed its regular set with the crowd sing-along of “Ruby,” inviting tourmates Casper and the Cookies onstage to join in.

“It was tremendous,” said Joe Terry, senior in liberal studies. “They brought it out 100 percent for Ames.”

Des Moines-based Radio Moscow opened up the night with its collection of country-drenched anthems, packed with enough big, bluesy guitar riffs to make the White Stripes blush. The band was also celebrating the release of its self-titled first CD.

Casper and the Cookies, from Athens, Ga., had a set full of lively, danceable tunes. The band seemed just as comfortable experimenting with new sounds as it did performing its standard guitar-bass-drum numbers.

The crowd got a boost from guitarist Jim Hicks – 200-plus pounds of pure energy in a faux-cowboy shirt, muttonchops and glittery eyeliner.