Not many artists appear equally comfortable onstage in the Indio desert at Coachella and giving a TED talk, but (forgive the pun) Andrew Bird defies any attempt to pigeonhole him as a performer. Bird and his band concluded their Break It Yourself tour with a homecoming gig at the Auditorium Theatre, and the Northwestern alum gave a rousing two-hour performance. It leaned heavily on recent material, perhaps at the expense of fan favorites, but that didn’t prevent the show from being highly enjoyable.

The 30-piece “circus punk marching band” Mucca Pazza kicked off the night with namesake craziness, and Bird took time out during his set to note just how difficult it is to get that many people to sound cohesive. With all of his technically precise looping and lush instrumentation, Bird clearly appreciates when so many sounds come together.

The sit-down, buttoned-up atmosphere at an Auditorium Theatre show could have created a moribund affair, especially given how energetic songs like “Plasticities” and “Fake Palindromes” seem to require an audience swaying along and clapping. But credit Bird and his band with bringing enough vigor to connect with a hometown crowd clamoring for the return of one of Chicago’s most notable musicians.

Armed with witty stage banter and some truly funny introductory stories before several songs, Bird engaged the seated audience in such a way that the show stayed a concert and never became a detached theatrical performance.

Bird is equal parts classical virtuoso, folk troubadour, and stunningly sharp vocalist. Even his perfect-pitch whistling is startling. He’s comfortable jumping from Americana-folk to straightforward rock, before bringing it down a notch into jazz improvisation and classical instrumental. It’s a range that defies labeling, though the high-minded catchall term “art rock” is perhaps the most liberally applied to Bird’s particular blend.

Bird’s latest album, Break It Yourself, made up the majority of the set—the band played all but three tracks from that record, but doubled back through some previous highlights in the second half. Former Bowl Of Fire member Nora O’Connor joined the band for several songs, including taking the St. Vincent part on “Lusitania,” and an all-acoustic segment of the show played around what Bird called an “old-timey mic” with upright bass really brought in an O Brother, Where Art Thou? folk vibe.

The only decorations onstage were a handful of spiraling sculptures, twisting around as the lights projected swirling colors that would fit right in on a MacBook screensaver. The helix formations could symbolize Bird’s multi-genre approach, and how he’s managed to bring together all his disparate influences into a style that feels all his own.