Phantom Planet didn’t take the 101 on its way to DeKalb for its show at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom on Friday night.

Instead, the California quintet took Interstate 94 on its way from Duluth, Minn.

“We love playing college shows,” guitarist Darren Robinson said. “This place is really friendly; [CAB] has been great.”

The band canceled two Chicago shows to comply with NIU’s radius clause.

Collectively battling colds, Phantom Planet played a 75-minute set that included material from the band’s last two records, “The Guest” and “Phantom Planet.”

The interactive show featured a call-and-response sing-along during “Turn Smile Shift Repeat.” Front man Alex Greenwald’s trip into the crowd during “Big Brat” ended with the singer’s passport being stolen from his pocket while crowd-surfing.

The group’s energetic set included “California,” “All Over Again,” “1st Things 1st” and nine others.

The set concluded with “Nobody’s Fault,” one of three songs the band played during its encore.

“This crowd was amazing. The place was loud and fun,” Robinson said of the several hundred in attendance.

New Zealand rockers Steriogram preceded Phantom Planet to garner support for its debut album from Capitol Records, “Schmack!” Entering to the “Top Gun” theme song, the band possessed an awkward arrogance throughout its 35 minutes on stage.

Vocalist Tyson Kennedy paraded around with a slew of back flips and break dancing. Elements of rap and punk were accentuated with the occasional throwback guitar riff. In addition to a cover of AC/DC’s “Back In Black,” the set was highlighted by “Walkie Talkie Man,” the band’s most recent song to be brought to life in a music video directed by Michel Gondry.

Mates Of State opened the evening. The married duo of drummer Jason Hammel and the pregnant Kori Gardner played a traditional version of twee-pop, which featured songs from its 2003 release, “Team Boo,” as well as a cover of Nico’s “These Days.”