Despite the attempts to pigeonhole him—we won’t list them, you know what they are—the only predictable thing about Bob Pollard, apart from the quality of his art, is that he’ll change his mind. He reformed the classic-era Guided By Voices lineup in 2010 and played the hits at a few festivals. That’d be it, right? Nope. Rather, the suddenly resurgent GBV released three LPs in 2012, did some touring and delivered yet another record—the fine English Little League—earlier this year. Hey, maybe he’ll keep this thing alive for a while.

Or will he? Accounting for that unpredictability, this following guess could be way off base, but signs at the moment point to no. There’s no GBV record currently scheduled, or even rumored to be in the works, and the brain trust that feeds the faithful with information is keeping quiet. Is good ol’ mercurial Uncle Bob pulling the plug again?

Given all of that, prior to the Dayton, Ohio, legends’ Riot Fest set Saturday in Chicago’s Humboldt Park, you kind of had the feeling it might be the last time you’ll be enjoying this, or any, incarnation of GBV live, unless the half-assed speculation above is wrong. Then you feel stupid, because on a beautiful, sunny day with GBV about to play, it’s pretty silly to even ponder the possibility.

As cerebral and poetic Pollard often is on record, GBV shows have always been about the celebration of rock ’n’ roll, and the band’s 60-minute set was yet another affirmation. Kickstarted by a swig of tequila promptly at 4:45, Pollard led his crew (guitarists Tobin Sprout and Mitch Mitchell, bassist Greg Demos and drummer Kevin Fennell) through 22 songs, including two—“Fair Touching” and “Teenage FBI”—that fanboys will note were not recorded during this lineup’s run. A blazing “No Transmission” highlighted the eight new songs, yawning stage security guy aside. (Long day, I’m sure, but come on, man!)

It’s debatable which favorite nugget received the loudest reaction, though it was probably “Game Of Pricks.” Or maybe it was “Cut-Out Witch.” Or “Shocker In Gloomtown.” Every last one inspired a group sing-a-long—it never gets old shouting along to “I Am A Scientist” and “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory”—and, in the appropriate case of “Smothered In Hugs,” a mass hug-in.

Pollard kept his always entertaining banter to a minimum, though when informed the band had 15 minutes remaining, he cracked, “We’ve got 15 minutes left. You guys are saying, ‘Do the good ones!’ Fuck you, we’re going to do the shitty ones.” Pollard also mentioned Blondie, up after GBV, a couple of times, commenting that he heard Debbie Harry “has a nice ass” and jokingly introducing the final tune, “Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy,” with, “I always wanted to say, ‘Up next, Blondie.’ We’ve made it!”

Which, naturally, brought to mind the line in “Echos Myron”: “And we’re finally here/And shit yeah, it’s cool.” Yes, it is—no matter what happens from here on out.

—Matt Hickey