Yo La Tengo is making its own “Patriot Act,” touring across the country visiting political swing states, making Ames its 10th stop on the three-week “Patriot Act: Yo La Tengo’s Swing State Tour.”

For anyone who was around the last time Yo La Tengo made a stop in Ames, you can expect a much different show line-up than the last performance.

“The format for the show is extremely different from what we normally do,” says guitarist and vocalist Ira Kaplan.

Yo La Tengo consists of drummer and vocalist Georgia Hubley, bassist James McNew and Kaplan.

The band boasts a menagerie of albums from the past 11 years, including “Strange but True,” released in 1998, as well as “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out,” released in 2000.

Their latest, “Summer Sun,” can give listeners a feel for Yo La Tengo’s sound, one that is constantly undergoing experimental changes in instrumentation. Songs such as “Beach Party Tonight” and “Don’t have to Be So Sad,” showcase these traits, cueing listeners in to the band’s array of tactics setting them apart from other bands.

For a band known for its eclectic use of a wide range of musical styles within a single album, the variety show format of their latest tour really shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise.

While each show is a little different, Kaplan says, the common threads of the tour include having no opening act for any show. A rotating cast of guests accompanies the band on its various tour stops, including comedians who will participate in skits.

Kaplan is quick to point out the goal of the tour.

“The goal of the trip is to encourage people to be a part of the political process,” Kaplan says.

Yo La Tengo enthusiasts can take comfort in the fact they are members of an audience the band feels privileged to be reaching.

“I like going places we don’t go very often. It’s a different feeling,” Kaplan says.

Kaplan says he feels he will have achieved his purpose at the end of the tour if President Bush is not re-elected on Election Day.

This should come as no real surprise to Yo La Tengo loyalists. Although Kaplan says he hopes to express his views to fans, Yo La Tengo’s music isn’t “explicitly political.”

“Anyone who knows our band won’t be flabbergasted to find out our views,” Kaplan says.