Justin Furstenfeld, lead singer of Blue October, calls his band’s music “bipolar rock.”

“Bipolar means up and down drastically, and rock means rock,” Furstenfeld says. “When you put them together, you get our sound, really dreamy-like, but edgy.”

He says this description applies both musically and lyrically. Blue October’s songs range from sensitive pop ballads to angry hard rock anthems, and the subject matter contained in the lyrics has a similar scope.

“When I was a kid, I was pissed off and I didn’t know any other way to get it out, so I started writing,” Furstenfeld says. “Now I write about a lot of different emotions, ups and downs, and a lot of true stories.”

The inconsistency in Blue October’s music is understandable given the band’s list of influences, which include Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Idaho and A Perfect Circle. However, Furstenfeld, along with his brother Jeremy on drums, high school friend Ryan Delahoussaye on violin, bassist Matt Noveskey and lead guitarist Brant Coulter, has helped Blue October create a sound all its own during the 10 years the band has been together.

The last three of those 10 years have been spent touring, Furstenfeld says, and have brought the band to the Midwest numerous times. Besides several appearances in Ames last year, Blue October played twice at Simon Estes Amphitheater in Des Moines as part of the Alive Concert Series, opening for both Sister Hazel and Big Head Todd & the Monsters. Saturday, Blue October will return to the amphitheater and the concert series — but this time, as the headlining act.

Although having top billing at a venue as large as Simon Estes Amphitheater is a big step for the still-blossoming band, Furstenfeld says he isn’t worried about filling the seats.

“I don’t think we’ve ever headlined an outdoor stage like this before,” Furstenfeld says. “If people show up, they show up. If they don’t, we’ll play to three people if we have to.”

Tom Zmolek, concert organizer and owner of People’s Productions, says Saturday’s show should attract more than three people.

“I’d expect quite a large, all-ages crowd,” Zmolek says.

Zmolek also thinks the Blue October show is geared more toward college students than some of the other concerts in the Alive Series, since it will feature young, mainstream acts.

“This one’s probably going to be more rockin’ than most of the shows,” Zmolek says. “Most of the stuff that I’m doing is a lot of folky stuff, or jam band oriented, or older rock ‘n’ roll, and this is going to be more fresh music.”