Hump day Wednesday signifies half way through the working week and a step closer to letting your hair down for the weekend. Such was the case at The Oxford Art Factory as the Melbourne duo Polo Club treated punters to their electonica hip-hop. They did well to entertain with 2.0 and Hey Urban, enticing the crowd to let their hair down and sway to the rhythm.

Canadian hip-hop artist K-os reared his head 9.30pm and by then the venue had reached full capacity and was alight. The backing band scorched the rhythm section via nifty guitar solos and tantalising keyboard work, elevating hits such as Valhalla. The beauty of K-os work is the meaningful soulful words, elevating a positive picture without being cheesy. Catdiesel was another soulful piece sung with great tenderness before the vocals reached the heights on Superstarr.

Having just completed his stint on Splendour in the Grass, this sideshow was quite an intimate treat and K-os could not help but note “that he came a very long way to be here”, accentuating how special the evening was. Astronauts intensified the great vibe emanating from the stage and Sunday Morning was one of the favourites that incorporated a nice sing along.

K-OS is a humble artist who relies on the strength of the songs. The guitar solos were short and crisp, and I’m just a man proved this. There was some banter with the crowd asking which road to take from Melbourne to Sydney. Uptown Girl again reinforced the positivity of his songs, speaking of where he’s come from “I’m not from the ghetto, but my mama is…”

The night ended on the wonderfully upbeat Man I Used To Be, from Joyful Rebellion. It’s a wonder why K-os isn’t as big as the other artists of his genre but four studio albums into his career he’s doing well. Perhaps it’s best to keep it low key, as this personable and intimate shows are so much nicer than stadium fiascos.