If Jeff Tweedy and his Wilco bandmates weren't having the time of their lives on stage earlier tonight at the Palladium, they sure fooled me. During a mammoth 135 minute performance (which included two encore sets), Tweedy seemed giddy when interacting with the capacity crowd.


He commanded their handclaps, directed them during singalongs and even traded shirts with a lucky audience member. That dude ended up with Tweedy's flannel getup, and the singer found himself performing in a cheesy '80s gold-lamé top for the remainder of the show. Admiring himself in his new shirt, Tweedy told its old owner, "Yeah, you got screwed on this deal, I'm pretty sure."


Silliness aside, the six-piece Chicago band delivered the kind of expansive, experimental takes on tunes that drew so many fans to the groundbreaking albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. Even some of the more back-to-basics songs from the latest two Wilco records, Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (the album), benefited from added live muscle.


Tweedy's voice was in top form; he sounded particularly strong and clear on fan favorite "Kamera," and let out piercing rock 'n' roll screams on the very last song, "I'm a Wheel." But the biggest revelation in seeing Wilco live in its current lineup is guitarist Nels Cline. He proved as versatile as they come, creating chaotic, rapturous noise with pedals during some songs and finding countless ways to attack melody lines during others.


There's no question that Wilco's one of the most skilled rock (or, if you insist, alt-country) bands you can see live. And the players seem to enjoy the concert experience just as much as their audience does.


Done with the gushing; find the set list from tonight after the jump.