The critical buzz around Wilco’s latest, self-titled album has centered on the notion of identity. Some have heralded Wilco (the album) as a reclamation of the insouciance of the band’s early albums, while others—particularly City Paper’s own Aaron Leitko—have described it as a tour of the band’s sonic arc over the last decade. But aside the reflexivism of its latest studio release, Wilco at Wolf Trap on Wednesday reiterated what might be the band’s most enduring legacy: its ability to put on one hell of a live show.

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For some reason, everybody wants to make a movie about Wilco. The Chicago based band has been the subject of, or at played a significant role in, two full-length documentaries already. And during most of that screen time, the band is grumpy. Remember the scene in The Man In The Sand where singer-songwriter Jeff Tweedy insists that Mermaid Avenue, Wilco’s collaborative album with Billy Bragg, be re-christened Hard Feelings? Remember watching him roll his eyes while former guitarist Jay Bennett dithered with the mixing board in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart?

But Trixie DVD, the film production company founded by Brendan Canty (formerly of Fugazi) and Christoph Green, has had the good luck to catch the band in a better mood and, as a result, its contributions to the Wilco-film genre–including the Jeff Tweedy solo-tour DVD Sunken Treasure–have been among the finest.

This Saturday Ashes of American Flags, Trixie DVD’s recently completed Wilco concert film, will have its DC premiere as part of the DC International Film Festival. Canty and Green were kind enough to speak with Washington City Paper about making the film, the reasons that they love Wilco, and why the band is less grumpy these days.

Interview after the jump:
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You haven’t had enough of the lists yet, have you? Good. Here’s one more quick one: my list of favorite shows of the year, mostly in D.C. but also ranging north to Baltimore and south to Charlottesville (links all lead to photos):

1. St. Vincent at Rock & Roll Hotel, February 26
2. Nels Cline Singers at the Paramount Theater, June 6
3. Tim Berne’s Bloodcount at An Die Musik, February 9
4. Amanda Palmer at the 9:30 Club, November 18
5. Wilco at Lyric Opera House, December 14
6. Salome at DC9, August 10
7. Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin at Blues Alley, March 3
8. Earth at Rock & Roll Hotel, May 4
9. Nobu Stowe at George Washington University, September 7
10. Evangelista at Velvet Lounge, April 16
11. Boris at the Black Cat, July 8
12. Škampa Quartet & Iva Bittová at the Library of Congress, April 11
13. Dälek at Rock & Roll Hotel, February 27
14. Kamelot at Jaxx, October 16
15. Woven Hand at Iota, October 17