The picture outside Will Rogers Auditorium last Thursday night was painted perfectly – excited patrons of good music standing outside the concert hall debating favorite albums with beers and hotdogs in their hand.

Fans of Wilco, a band born in Chicago whose diverse sound has been described as avant-rock, alt-country and orchestral pop, made a trip to Fort Worth for the 2006 Kicking Television tour.

With no particular album to promote and no specific reason to tour, the band simply hit the road to take a break from making its sixth album and to revisit the pleasure of being on stage.

“I don’t know if you can tell,” said lead singer Jeff Tweedy. “But we’re having a blast.”

The audience could definitely tell.

The auditorium was hooked when Tweedy began “At Least That’s What You Said,” a melodic track with haunting lyrics and hypnotic musical accompaniment.

Although Tweedy’s voice was the most captivating element of the show, guitarist Nels Cline (added in 2004) guided the songs with his skills and visual flair.

The band, also featuring two pianists Pat Sansone and Myke Jorgensen, drummer Glenn Kotche and bassist John Stirrat, extended nearly every song with instrumental solos (“Via Chicago” was played completely revamped) looking much like a garage band taking delight in the simple joy of jamming together.

The two hour show was mainly music, but Tweedy did take a moment to ask the questions obligatory to a rock band. He even invited the audience to sing along to “Jesus, Etc.,” a beautifully orchestrated track off of the band’s album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” released in 2002.

Wilco sprinkled in several new songs from its upcoming album, but its strongest moments came from favorites.

An original layering of melodic elements makes for the eccentric sound that characterizes the majority of Wilco songs. A sound that has been appreciated as an invaluable addition to the world of music or that has been completely misunderstood-either way it’s a sound considered genius.

Songs like “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” and “Poor Places” (especially performed live) are perfect examples of beautiful tracks.

The quality of music that currently dominates the airwaves is doubtful. It’s a question of whether the music means something to the artists, and a question of what motivated the lyrics and the music they are set to.

With Wilco though, there is no question – the intentions are pure and the music colored by talent.