Ben Harper treated a Thursday night crowd at Stephens Auditorium to one of the most eclectic shows to come through Ames in recent memory.

The crowd roared its appreciation as Harper’s passionate vocals brought tunes like “Forgiven” and “Ground on Down” to a new level.

Along with his band The Innocent Criminals, Harper opened the show with the mellow groove “Gold to Me,” off of his 1995 release “Fight for Your Mind.” But it wasn’t long before Harper and company made the transition from mellow to full-force rock.

After “Gold to Me,” Harper peeled off an extended jam on “Fight for Your Mind,” featuring an extended bass solo by Juan Nelson. Nelson strutted his enormous frame around the stage, scatted and at one point, slipped into the Sly & The Family Stone classic “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”

Nelson’s direct interaction with the crowd and his stage presence provided a nice contrast with Harper. Since he primarily played a Weissenborn (lap guitar), Harper spent the entire show sitting on a chair on an elevated platform. Between songs a crew member would bring him the next Weissenborn, and occasionally an acoustic or electric guitar.

However, just because Harper was sitting down didn’t keep him from flaunting a tremendous stage presence. Few performers dig into their own music with as much energy night after night as Harper.

As expected, Harper’s set was heavy on tunes from his latest record, “Burn to Shine.” To its credit, the crowd welcomed newer tunes such as “The Woman in You” and “Please Bleed” with the same enthusiasm as older favorites.

The crowd favorite was undoubtedly the unblushing marijuana anthem, “Burn One Down.” Given the potent lyrics of some of his other songs, it’s a bit disheartening that people are so polarized towards a song that’s sole message is “weed is good.”

Harper followed with “Oppression,” a song that when performed live includes a medley paying tribute to Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.”

Harper’s soothing rasp of a voice perfectly complements Marley’s original, and the crowd certainly appreciated the inclusion of the reggae classic.

One of the highlights of the set was the blues rocker “Burn to Shine,” on which Harper played a Jimmy Page-esque double necked guitar. Harper closed out his set with “Steal My Kisses,” with help from human beat-box Nick Rich.

Although the band left the stage, the show was far from over. Several minutes of roaring applause raged on as Harper returned to the stage alone with an acoustic guitar.

After the predominantly up-tempo set, fans of Harper’s gentler acoustic numbers might have felt disappointed. But soon enough, he took care of that.

In his first encore, Harper floated through three whisper quiet ballads including “Waiting on an Angel.” The same crowd that had been dancing and hollering only minutes before fell completely silent, savoring every sound and watching Harper’s every move, sharply contrasting the preceding atmosphere.

Of course, there are always a few people who think a quiet tune is the perfect opportunity to shout “You fuckin’ rule!” But for the most part, the crowd was well behaved.

Another roar of applause sent Harper back to the stage again, with the Innocent Criminals in tow.

The second encore launched with the full-band sound of “Forever,” a song that was interestingly reworked.

After two more songs from “Burn to Shine,” Harper closed the show as he often does with a Jimi Hendrix cover of “Manic Depression” and brought the performance to a halt.

As Harper left the stage, he left little doubt that he is one of the most phenomenal performers touring today.