WATERLOO - A lingerie-clad microphone stand and energetic fans were a few of Hinder's favorite things Saturday night, when the band played to a full crowd at McElroy Auditorium.

Swinging guitars and hard rock riffs were seen and heard throughout the sets of opening acts Black Stone Cherry and Finger Eleven.

Finger Eleven sparked the first big sing-along of the night with "One Thing" as they danced their way around the stage.

By the time Hinder took the stage around 10 p.m., the floor was packed full of screaming fans with their longhorns held high. The crowd-surfing, which began almost before the concert did and kept security busy throughout, started up again in full-force.

It was the Oklahoma City-based band's first time in Waterloo, said lead vocalist Austin Winkler. The mostly high school and college-aged crowd, dotted with families and a little boy sporting a Mohawk, seemed to appreciate the news.

Hinder played crowd favorites "Shoulda," "Bliss" and a cover of "Take Me Home Tonight."

During "By the Way," Winkler, who sang most songs perched atop steel boxes at the front of the stage, jumped into the crowd.

When it came time for "Lips of an Angel," the crowd held their cell phones and lighters high and sang along to one of Hinder's best-known songs as the room filled with a spackling of blue and yellow lights.

"Can you tell we're big fans?" joked Bobbi Jo Gram of Cedar Falls. She and her friend, Marissa Fuller, were decked out in matching Hinder T-shirts and striped leggings.

"It was the best thing of my life," said Fuller. This was the second concert for the junior high school girls, who saw Hinder in Des Moines last year.

As the evening drew to a close, shouts requesting "Get Stoned" came from the crowd, and Hinder was happy to oblige.

"My favorite part was the end song, because of how involved everyone was. It was pretty cool," said Chase Little of Independence.

And involved they were. The already-deafening noise got louder as bouncing fans in a sea of flailing arms screamed the lyrics to the band's final song of the night.

Contact Laura Grevas at (319) 291-1482 or laura.grevas@wcfcourier.com