The last time they graced our fair campus during Veishea of 1994, Tripping Daisy transformed the State Gym into a swirling mass of lasers and lights. Now, the band, Texas born and bred, will rustle up a herd of music lovers in the Maintenance Shop and infect them with their contagious, Silly Putty pop.

Tripping Daisy, since last blowing an Ames crowd outta their shoes, have met with some success and a bit of radio airplay for “I Got a Girl,” off of their June release, i am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER.

“It’s an obvious pop song, you know?” bassist Mark Pirro explained. “You have to have a really catchy song to get your foot in the door with radio and MTV. After that you can command the authority to do exactly what you want.”

Despite their climbing the musical ladder and the increase in pay, Tripping Daisy, which also includes Tim Delaughter as the voice, Wes Berggren on guitar and Bryan Wakeland on percussion, digs the occasional chance to play smaller clubs, with a little sweet talk and a dare or two. The Maintenance Shop definitely qualifies on both counts.

“We’ve been talking to the band ever since the Gym Jam,” said Rusty Poehner, activities coordinator for the M-Shop. “We’ve been showing them the plans of the shop and daring them to get their light show in here. They decided to take up the challenge, and we finally settled on a date.”

“It’s good for a change of pace,” Pirro added. “It has a much more intimate feel to it.”

While the band rests on the crest of stardom, Pirro et al pray that their future will not hold the same fate that befell Dexy’s Midnight Runners and The Buggles. Both one-hit-wonders are known for a single song and have absolutely no present-day music careers to speak of.

“There’s more to the band than just that song,” Pirro said. “Our biggest fear is for the band to be known for ‘I Got a Girl.'”

Tripping Daisy will no doubt play some tunes off both Bill, their debut, and i am an ELASTIC FIRECRACKER, the album for which they are touring. FIRECRACKER tosses together vintage stuff and off-the-top-of-their-heads material into a bottle of carbonated fun.

“‘Prick’ was done a long time ago,” Pirro said. “[We] never thought to put it on the first record, and it evolved into a song we’re really proud of. We also did songs we just came up with in the studio. ‘Trip Along’ was written by Tim before the band ever was.

“It’s definitely a cross-section of the band’s material.”

In the music industry and with their recent success, TD have had the chance to play to larger venues and travel all over the country on tour. They are three-and-a-half months into their current sweep of the nation, which has earned them great exposure and some major exhaustion.

“You need the occasional break,” Pirro said. “The first two weeks of every tour, it’s like a vacation: you’re out partying. Now we’re more interested in getting a good night’s sleep. But I love it. I wouldn’t want a nine-to-five job anyway.

“The grass is always greener on the other side. I’m just glad to be home [after touring].”

Tripping Daisy’s record company has put together a tasty musical meal tonight; Island Records bands, Local H and UFOFU, are opening.

The show starts tonight at 9 p.m.; it costs $10 for students, $12 for non-students (prices go up $1 the day of the show). Tickets are available at Memorial Union Box Office.