There is a new category to add to the plethora of generalized, non-descript music genres.

This one is specific, and probably only one band could be categorized under its no-hold-barred label.

The title: metal harmonica. The group: Blues Traveler.

The four-man band displayed its unconventional, edgy fusion of rock and blues to a Stephens crowd Friday and Saturday night.

From the moment The Travelers took the stage Friday, the crowd stood to attention, stretching and warming up for a night of wiggling and swaying.

Opening with “Mulling It Over” off its first album, Blues Traveler left no doubt that the evening was to be one of hard rocking, blues driven numbers smitten with mouth organ indulgences.

By the third tune, “Hook,” front man John Popper surrendered his phallic ornament and sang to the disciples in the crowd that joined in thunderously.

Much to the audience’s delight, they were introduced to a few new songs spawned from a writing session in Woodstock, N.Y. Popper proclaimed both were “the first time ever played in Iowa.”

The first, “Psycho Joe Goes to the Electric Chair,” and the second, “Great Big World,” were met with enthusiastic response.

The crowd was given the opportunity to sing along, a l† mass solo, on “Stand” from the group’s most current disc, Four.

But, the evening’s highlight came when Popper, his vest harnessing his arsenal of harmonicas flashing in the lights, performed the “Star Spangled Banner”— Hendrix style.

No guitar though. Just earth shattering, ear blasting harmonica. Complete with feedback.

Another new song, “Carolina Blues,” showcased the more melodic parts of the band. Not only can they rock, they can harmonize too.

Before an intermission, Popper thanked Ames and gave the thumbs up with a “You guys are really fucking excellent.”

After the intermission, the band broke into a cover of War’s “Low Rider.”

But the second set become a harmonica recital. What was unique and inviting in the first set, turned to long and drawn out by the second.

Lyric hungry fans sat waiting for the mouth organ montages to end. Granted, its sound and Popper’s prowess on the instrument are what give the group its recognition. But there are only so many ways to connect with an inanimate object.

What the crowd wanted, and only marginally received in “Run-Around,” was the intimate connection of singing along to Popper’s syrup-thick voice.

More new songs were introduced in the second set. “Battle of Someone,” and the first-time-ever-performed-before-an-audience, “Come on Home” alerted fans that the next album should follow suit of the group’s past two Top 40 hit makers.

Openers, The Wallflowers put on a remarkable performance, despite sound difficulties.

Sliding seamlessly into “6th Ave. Heartache” and the sweet and sappy “Josephine,” the five man band from Los Angeles secured themselves as up and comers on the brink of arrival.