When you hear about the Vote for Change tour, do you think liberal fundraiser? Or do you think "Tripping Billies?"

The ubiquitous Dave Matthews Band (DMB), folk-blues favorites Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, hip-hop throwbacks Jurassic 5 and Southern-fried rockers My Morning Jacket are stopping through Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center tomorrow night.

But the concert is no mere multi-genre jam-fest; all proceeds from the thousands of $49.50 tickets sold for the event will go to America Coming Together (ACT), the largest voter contact effort in history.

The group, on whose Web site a suggestion reads that ACT "needs you to help beat George W. Bush and elect Democrats up and down the ticket," pulls no punches about its political leanings.

But is tomorrow night's show about changing minds, or just changing tempos in the DMB jam in "#41?" Bernie Punt, Jordan Center marketing director, suggests it may be more of the latter.

"For the people who are coming, based on conversations I've had with students, it seems as though they're coming to see Dave," Punt said. "Because of how the tickets are being sold, everyone buying a ticket is aware it's a political event, but mostly it seems like a chance for people to see Dave Matthews."

Punt emphasized that, politics or not, tomorrow's eclectic lineup should be of interest to almost anyone.

"To have Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals on the same bill as Dave is certainly very attractive to students," Punt said. "And to have Jurassic 5 is just the icing on the cake for a lot of people. And My Morning Jacket, if people are familiar with them, will be an added bonus."

With ACT making no excuses for its pro-Democratic rhetoric, and the performers presumably not censoring themselves onstage, it might seem that Republican music fans might be opting out of tomorrow's show in great numbers. Not so, says Punt.

"Has [the nature of the show] hindered ticket sales? No." Punt said.

Punt said that those crying foul for holding a partisan event on university property should be aware that Penn State will make no money on the show.

"The only unusual aspect is that, because of the organizations sponsoring the event, all the tickets were sold through ticketmaster.com," Punt said. "Otherwise, we're treating it like any other concert, any other Dave show. If it was the Republicans putting on the show, we'd be treating it the exact same way."

Anne Marie Toccket, College Democrats Web site committee head, agreed that a lot of people would view tomorrow night's gig as yet another chance to see Dave Matthews Band. However, she echoed Punt's statement that ticket buyers were given plenty of warning about the intentions of the performance.

"The message is clear and people know what they're getting into," Toccket said. "In fact, one of my best friends is a hardcore Dave fan but also a staunch Republican, and he won't be going tomorrow night. It's a matter of choice."

Like Toccket's friend, Andy Banducci, College Republicans President, won't be attending Vote for Change.

"I'm a gigantic fan of Dave Matthews Band, but on this one politically they've got it wrong," Banducci said. "Myself and a lot of others won't be going to the show because of where the proceeds from the ticket are going."

Banducci said he's skeptical of the intentions behind tomorrow night's event.

"Can they do whatever they want? Sure. But should these organizations be raising money on college campuses? No," Banducci said. "Whether or not the money's going to the [Democratic National Convention] or the Kerry campaign or some outside group, an event like this is clearly designed to support the Democrats, and that's politicizing the campus."

Toccket suggests that the Republicans complaining of a lack of a right-leaning voice on campus have only themselves to blame.

"There's been a huge outcry from the conservative population on campus because of this show, Teresa Heinz-Kerry being here, and because Howard Dean and Michael Moore are coming," Toccket said. "My answer to that is, get your people here. It's certainly not our responsibility to bring in Republican speakers and performers."

Banducci said his group is organizing plenty of events before the election.

"We're talking to speakers and artists all the time," Banducci said. "But there'll definitely be some large-scale pro-president events here before the election."

Though multiple attempts were made to contact tomorrow night's performers, all were unavailable to speak to The Daily Collegian.