“I don’t like Columbus, I love it!”

So declared 10cc at the end of “Dreadlock Holiday” as the band concluded the main set of Ultimate Ultimate Greatest Hits tour stop at KEMBA Live!’s indoor stage Sept. 7 in Ohio’s capital city before a sparse but rabidly partisan Sunday-night audience.

The quintet, minus drummer Paul Burgess, quickly returned to sing “Donna” a cappella around a shared mic. And in doing so, 10cc erased any doubt the impossibly pure harmonies that marked the 100-minute, 17-song show were entirely live. Burgess, who is not a singer, was back in time to offer the final, incredibly off-key, note, before the “Jailhouse Rock” parody “Rubber Bullets” ended the evening to a rousing standing ovation.

Huge in its native U.K. and critically if not commercially acclaimed in the States, 10cc’s Ultimate Ultimate Greatest Hits tour is, therefore, an Ultimate Ultimate Deep Cuts tour in America, “The Things We Do for Love” and “I’m Not in Love” excepted.

No matter.

Concertgoers ate up “The Second Sitting for the Last Supper,” which set the table for what was to follow. And that was humorous lyrics delivered with Beach Boys-inspired harmonies set to seriously complex Zappaesque music that sounds like no one but 10cc.

The proggy “Art for Art’s Sake,” the synth pop of “Life is a Minestrone,” the funky rock ‘n’ roll of “Good Morning Judge” and the operatic “Clockwork Creep” together made the point emphatically.

Co-founder, bassist, guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire Graham Gouldman, who penned “For Your Love” and “Look through Any Window” before 10cc formed in 1973, still helms the group and at 79 sings like a guy who’s 29. Today, while graciously and repeatedly acknowledging the contributions of co-founders Eric Stewart and Lol Creme, he performs alongside 1976 joinees Burgess, who also played keys and percussion, and guitarist Rick Fenn who colored his acrobatic solos with whammy bar and slide. Then there are 21st-century additions Keith Hayman (keys, bass, guitar) and second lead vocalist and co-frontman Andy Park, who shone on guitar, bass, mandolin, percussion and keyboards and was so busy, he pressed his guitar pick to his forehead for storage purposes and used the headstock of his acoustic guitar to play the chimes during the ethereal “I’m Mandy Fly Me.” His wide vocal range and falsetto filled in nicely for Stewart.

Beyond professional, the band weathered technical issues that befell Fenn during “Silly Love;” allowed Gouldman an applause-earning bass solo amid “Feel the Benefit;” and pulled off cool tricks such as when Fenn and Hayman each had a hand on the other’s instrument and played both perfectly.

Before the show, the emcee promised this would be the best show of the year for many attendees. It sounded like hyperbole; 10cc lived up to the hype.

The band was, as the Brits say, bloody brilliant.