The anticipated Canada versus Russia Olympic hockey game may have taken place last night, but for the diehard Wilco fans in London, there was no better place to be than Centennial Hall.

Wilco — short for “will comply” — is a band that’s been around for over a decade, has released eight albums and is clearly still going strong. The Chicago alternative rock-with-a-touch-of-country group had the London audience on their feet and catcalling from the moment they walked on stage Wednesday night.

I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART. Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy charmed the Centennial Hall audience Wednesday night with old favourites and new tracks off the band’s eighth album, Wilco (The Album). (Laura Barclay/Gazette)

The crowd unfortunately wasn’t as excited for opening band Califone —who looked like a slightly older, less cool version of Wilco and were almost as talented. The audience was sparse, but the lobby was packed with people having a pre-show beer. Many seats weren’t filled until just before the headlining band took to the stage.

It was an enthusiastic crowd that welcomed Wilco and its famed lead singer Jeff Tweedy. Halfway through the set, Tweedy commented London was “the rowdiest crowd in Canada.” Primarily comprised of men, the audience was split into either young hipster types or middle-aged fans —despite the age gap everyone seemed to know all of the band’s lyrics.

The group opened with “Bull Black Nova,” a song off their 2009 release, Wilco (The Album). They didn’t stick only to new material though, and played crowd favourites like “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” and “Impossible Germany” during their set.

Quite simply, Wilco sounded better live than they do on their albums. The instrumentals were impeccable, especially the electric guitar stylings of Nels Cline, who pulled out some Guitar Hero-like moves and solos.

Tweedy didn’t miss a single note as he demonstrated his impressive vocals — on every song but one. He asked the audience to sing the words to “Jesus, Etc.,” one of their acoustic songs. It was an exceptional moment, as the audience didn’t miss a single word.

What makes Wilco such a classic and respected band is their obvious talent and experience. Having played together for so long, the six-member group played cohesively, and is clearly comfortable together on stage. They don’t need anything to distract from their music, and only used a white backdrop and co-ordinated colourful lighting to help with aesthetics.

Their down-to-earth nature was also evident on stage. Tweedy addressed the audience with some awkwardly funny stage banter, but it seemed he was more comfortable singing on stage than talking — this didn’t seem to matter to the keen audience who lapped up every word sang and spoken by the renowned frontman.

At the end of their set, Tweedy thanked the audience and offered his congratulations on the Canadian hockey win before the band left the stage — but their encore was pretty much inevitable after the crowd’s relentless cheering. Wilco played an extra half hour and wrapped up with songs like “California Stars,” on which they were accompanied by Califone, and “Heavy Metal Drummer.”

At last, Wilco called it a night. The $46 tickets were well worth the price for the talent displayed during the two-hour long set.