Looks of desperation filled the crowd as it anticipated the emergence of the four guys that comprise Third Eye Blind Tuesday night at a packed Supertoad in Des Moines.

After a long, hot wait the crowd soon got what it had anxiously been anticipating.

As Third Eye Blind took to the stage amidst claps of thunder and began rocking its way through “Losing a Whole Year,” the crowd was completely lost in itself. Lead singer Stephan Jenkins tore out the words as hard as he could, nearly popping a vein.

Jenkins then curled up on a leather loveseat to sing the heartfelt opening to “Narcolepsy,” but didn’t stay there long as the music began to swell around him. Arion Salazar pounded away on his bass, creating subsonic levels of sound that had the walls of Supertoad begging for mercy.

“Are you guys doing a lot of pot smoking and ecstasy-poppin’ out there? You’re a bunch of bad-ass mother fuckers!” Jenkins yelled before the band moved into the infectious song “Thanks A Lot.”

“So our little band finally made it to Iowa,” an excited Jenkins said. “Sorry we have to play such a depressing song next.”

Third Eye Blind then calmly rocked its way into “Jumper,” an all too real song about suicide — one that really gets the message across. However, in the middle of the song, Jenkins had guitar problems and had to go on without it.

The music was unaffected, because lead guitarist Kevin Cadogan was there to keep things moving with his superb abilities.

The band then went on to play the quiet and soothing “Background,” which was often heard as background music in MTV’s Road Rules. Jenkins climbed on top of the speakers and sat comfortably there while belting out the song, often pausing to gaze out at the audience and hold them with his eyes. He was definitely in charge of this crowd, and they loved him for it.

The band then blasted its way into its smash hit, “How’s It Going To Be.” No speakers in the world could overpower the audience as it drowned out Jenkins with its own singing.

Jenkins then shared with the audience what motivated him to write the next song.

“When I wrote this next one, I had found out that my girlfriend had dumped me. Life is cruel and unfair. Well tonight I’m here to tell you, I got her back,” he said.

Through the triumphant cheers of the audience, Jenkins crooned his way into “Motorcycle Driveby,” a romantic song filled with surreal imagery that made you want to hold your special someone and never let go.

The mood was disrupted near the end of the song when the amps started reverbing so loud that Third Eye Blind looked like Milli Vanilli without a tape deck.

The band then regrouped for its most powerful performance of the night.

“Here’s the thing,” Jenkins said. “The question is, why would anybody wanna hear us? All we do is write freaky songs about dysfunctional people and their freaky lives. My theory is that perhaps all of you are freaks too.”

And with that, the audience roared up, and the band jammed its way into the hit “Semi-Charmed Life,” while Jenkins let the audience do most of the singing.

At the end of the song he paused and said, “I don’t know what I want out of this life. I just know I want something else.” This led into another round of the chorus.

Third Eye Blind finished the set with “Graduate” and “London,” letting the driving drumming of Brian Hargreaves guide the band through.

A simple good-bye was all Jenkins gave as the band left the stage. But that wasn’t enough for the audience as it began chanting, “We want more.”

When Jenkins returned to the stage alone, he just stared at the audience like he was the master of his domain. This only drove the audience even crazier. He quenched it with his awesome solo “I Want You.” Soon the rest of the band returned for one final song.

“Thanks so much,” Jenkins said. “You guys give us a really good feeling. This last song is our favorite to close with. This song was when everything in the studio came together. ‘God of Wine.'”

Jenkins held a bottle of Merlot in one hand and the mic in the other as he sang with the most feeling he had all night. The song dealt with drinking problems, and as the song faded he poured the bottle slowly out onto the stage.

The band all slowly left looking somber yet satisfied, exactly the way the audience felt.