Stepping into Stephens Auditorium for the Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals concert was like the scene in “Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy steps into Oz for the first time, and the movie switches from black and white to Technicolor.

All of the color in Ames came pouring out of the crevices it had apparently been hiding in. Even though school wasn’t in session, Stephens was full of teen-to-20-somethings decked out in tie-dye, dreadlocks, and puka shells.

It was a refreshing change of pace from the perpetually-pissed-off musical attitude that so frequently rears its head in today’s music.

Harper and his band began the May 14 show with a blistering rendition of “Alone,” from 1999’s critically acclaimed “Burn to Shine.” During an extended jam with drums, percussion, and bass crescendo-ing together, it felt as if thunder was rolling through the auditorium as white lights flashed like lightening through the darkness.

Extended blues-folk jams have become a staple at Harper’s shows. Almost every song featured an evolving addition to the studio version.

During these jams, that each member of the band was able to shine. During “Fight For Your Mind” and “Breakin’ Down,” bassist Ron Nelson took center stage, thumping out funky bass lines and even singing and whistling.

Crowd favorites included “Burn One Down,” which had many audience members lighting up (in the “smoke free” auditorium) and singing along, and the mainstream radio hit, “Steal My Kisses,” which ended the first set.

But the real highlight came during the first encore. Harper came back on stage sans The Innocent Criminals for a five-song solo acoustic set that included the intimate ballads “In the Lord’s Arms,” “Walk Away,” and a cover of the Verve’s “The Drugs Don’t Work.”

At least this would have been the highlight if a group of overzealous fans in the back hadn’t screamed their loving sentiments (“Ben, you rule!”) throughout the entire set, at times overpowering Harper’s hushed vocals and guitar work and essentially ruining the connective vibe he had going.

As if this incident weren’t bad enough, others tried to help the situation by shhh-ing the off-beat clapping and yelling coming from the back.

Harper continued to try to concentrate. His frustration was apparent when he sang the lines “How I wonder why the world can be so cold,” during “Pleasure and Pain,” and he leaned into the microphone, emphasizing the word “cold.”

Fortunately, the obnoxious fans were drowned out when the rest of the band came back for the second encore, which, surprisingly, was not the “Sexual Healing” cover that many audience members were requesting.

Instead, the fans were treated to an improvised version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which is not usually on the setlist.

The stage setup at Stephens was simple with no loud props or cheesy gimmicks.

Harper remained seated throughout almost the whole show, switching guitars (from acoustic to electric to the hollow-neck lap slide guitar he is known for mastering) between every song. Behind him was an enormous drum set and an even bigger percussion set with musicians buried somewhere inside.

The music remained the focus of the entire evening. The crowd needed no prodding from the band to get involved. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have gotten it from Harper, who didn’t say anything besides, “Thank you” the entire night. He didn’t have to. His gently delivered messages of love, peace, unity and change spoke for themselves.