There’s a right way and a wrong way to get the crowd’s attention in Des Moines, and Rascal Flatts managed to do both in one night on its “Here’s to You Tour.”

“It’s so good to be in Iowa, where the weather is cold and the women are hot,” boasted Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus on Saturday night, much to the crowd’s delight.

Later in the show, though, Flatts’ Gary LeVox made an error, assuming the Des Moines crowd was filled with Hawkeye fans.

“Let’s talk about something serious,” LeVox said. “Let’s talk about the Hawkeyes.”

After Wells Fargo Arena erupted with an overwhelming amount of boos, the confused LeVox asked a fan who the crowd cheered for. “Go Cyclones!” she said, and the crowd cheered, with a few boos mixed in as well.

Before Rascal Flatts even took the stage though, one of country’s newest stars warmed up the crowd.

Blaine Larsen, who was on his last day on the tour, performed a few songs to open the night. It was easy to see just how new Larsen is to the spotlight, as his passive mentality on stage forced the few fans who were standing up to sit down. Larsen performed a few relatively unknown songs, as well as his breakout hits “How Do You Get That Lonely,” and “The Best Man.”

Larsen has a great voice, good songs, but a poor persona.

Blake Shelton was on next, and immediately brought the crowd to its feet with “Give Me a Redneck Girl,” followed by absolutely stellar performances of “Ol’ Red,” “Austin,” and “The Baby.”

It was his antics on stage though, that separated him from the rest.

“There are country people out here in Iowa – Hell yeah!” Shelton exclaimed, drawing a roar from the crowd.

Shortly thereafter, Shelton apologized for using so-called curse words, and followed his apology up with an unscripted version of his most recent hit, “Some Beach.”

“He stuck that needle down, deep in my gums, and he started drilling, before I was numb … mother [trails off],” and the crowd loved it.

Random observation – you know you’re at a country concert when, in between bands, girls are in the aisles dancing crazily to “Cotton Eyed Joe.”

Rascal Flatts’ high-energy approach made for an incredible show, dropping confetti during its first song, “Here’s to You,” and following that up with a mix of the band’s early hits.

The balance put forth by the group in the performance made it easy to see why LeVox, DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have sold six million records.

Flatts performed the perfect amount of songs in its show, mixing in songs from all three albums: “Rascal Flatts,” “Melt” and “Feels Like Today.”

Having seen the group when it was just starting out – and it was almost as uncomfortable as Blaine Larsen appeared to be – it is obvious that Rascal Flatts is not only appreciative of its fans, but remembers where it comes from.Even the encore, which could have been disappointing since Rascal Flatts didn’t perform any of its own songs, was impressive. Having a feel similar to a rock concert, Flatts performed a variety of cover tunes before bringing seven Marines on stage and concluding with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”

Random observation No. 2 – do any country concerts, aside from the Dixie Chicks in France, not try to be patriotic? The performances were good, the artists were energetic and the concert was great. “Thank God I’m a country boy.”