IOWA CITY — It was a brisk 32 degrees outside the Memorial Union in Iowa City, but that couldn’t compete with the scorching temperatures that took place inside when the body twisting, tribal stomping chime of Rusted Root began playing to a sold-out crowd of 1,600.

The stage was filled with just about every culturally diverse instrument invented, including an African talking drum, several mandolins, a few woodwinds and even an Indian sitar.

At 8:45 p.m. the lights went out and the looming presence of Rusted Root took the stage with the overwhelming scent of incense.

The set began with just the druid-like chanting of the band members before flowing into the mandolin plucking beginning of “Faith I Do Believe,” the opening track to their latest release, Remember.

Next came the familiar Latin sounds of “Martyr,” allowing the audience a chance to really start pulsing. To reinforce the mood, the country-western “Virtual Reality” followed.

Root dove further into Remember with the swaying sounds of “Infinite Space,” the mysterious rocking of “Voodoo,” complete with an unusual loon call by front man Michael Glabicki followed by the simple ballad “Sister Confine,” tinged with the beautiful, sensuous singing of Liz Berlin.

What followed was the most titillating moments of the evening as the set turned more to the familiar tunes of Rusted Root’s multi-platinum album,When I Woke.

Beginning with the meditative “Beautiful People,” the sextet began to set a more subdued mood, with each member adding an occasional croon, strained with Glabicki’s cries.

The dark crescendoing, “Cruel Sun” came after, flavored with the exotic percussion of Jim DiSpirito and mellifluous flute playing of John Buynak.

Even with these extended jams that lasted several minutes, the audience was still captivated by the activities taking place on stage, occasionally clapping and cheering their appreciation after the more interesting solos.

Next came the pounding, “Lost In A Crowd,” instinctively ending with the audience bouncing up and down to the music.

The night came to a close with an exciting six person percussion jam on “Drum Trip,” giving each member a chance to show off their hand drumming abilities. The regular set ended with the exciting Salsa funk tune, “Ecstacy.”

If the audience wasn’t aggressive enough during the rest of the concert, they certainly made up for it at the end with their twists and hollers.

But, Rusted Root returned for a double encore. Beginning with the pulsating, “Scattered,” which appears on their new album. What came next was inevitable.

That mega MTV hit “Send Me On My Way” closed the night with a cohesive audience sing-a-long.

Bodies sweaty and hearts pounding, the bitter cold outside didn’t seem to bother the fans after such an invigorating show, by such a cool band.