Wilco, Shepherds Bush Empire, London

"I have rather a bad track record for speaking to British audiences," Wilco's singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy tells the crowd, recalling their 1999 concert at this venue when he leapt into the crowd to inspire enthusiasm. He adds: "We will say that we adore you and your ways and your belief systems. All right? Peace."

The Chicago band's latest album, Sky Blue Sky, is a return to the country-rock model of their 1995 debut A.M. Their albums Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) and the Grammy-winning A Ghost is Born (2004) were more in the alt.rock vein, but tonight they play a cohesive set from across the years with astounding energy. "I am Trying to Break Your Heart", with its dissonant piano, rolling drum beats and dramatically messy crescendo, is a perfect example of creativity at its peak.

Similarly, "At Least That's What you Said" begins with serene vocals then adds a stomping beat and repetitive strumming, building up a tension that is only resolved when all six musicians let loose. In the newer songs, the pure alt.country "Impossible Germany" and Sky Blue Sky's title track bring early-Seventies influences such as Neil Young and Little Feat to the fore.

The musicianship is such that there are cheers after each impressive guitar or vocal solo - of which there are many. In one of the night's highlights, the 1999 single "Shot in the Arm", Tweedy sings "Something in my veins / bloodier than blood" with full-throated passion. Nels Cline's fingers are a blur and his body judders with the complexity of his guitar work. Glenn Kotche proves he is one of the US's top leftfield drummers with his relentless energy and meticulous timing.

At the end of a nearly two-hour set, Tweedy introduces Bill Fay. "Since we discovered this man's records six years ago I can't think of anyone whose records have meant more in my life," Tweedy says.

It's a grand statement, and, as they begin the duet "Be Not So Fearful", a still silence and wonder fall upon the crowd, to breath-catching emotive effect. Unlike in 1999, Tweedy has finally won the silence and attention of the crowd, and he looks jubilant as he leaves the stage.