A warm bath not a wombat

CM, AM and I descended into a funky cavern called the Oxford Art Factory to witness the pop stylings of Lenka. A shout was $26 - legalised mugging! - but Lovalls Pure Lager (no apostrophe) proved worthy of repeat samplings. Mmmmalty. Support act Missing Hours clearly shared a passion for asymmetrical haircuts. They botched a few gear changes before getting up to rock speed and leaving us energised. Off to the gents: a post-modern urinal where you literally pissed against a brick wall. Then back for the lady herself. Like all stars, Lenka is smaller in real life, though no less lovely than her photos. Captivatingly theatrical on stage, I reckon she has musical DNA in common with Missy Higgins, Macy Gray, Lily Allen and Bjork. The hubbub on the balcony saw us relocate to the floor, away from the rude people desperate to exchange inanities. Far from spoiling our gig, they indirectly sent us to where the sound quality was superior. I counted 10/11 album tracks (don't recall "Like A Song" - could be wrong), plus a cover of Modest Mouse's "Gravity Rides Everything". The live renditions weren't radically different to those on the CD, although the trumpet came to the fore here. Lenka played keyboards and tambourine, beguiled us with her velvet voice and breathy delivery, and even had us singing along "I want my money back!" at the climax of "The Show". It was so not true.