Ben Folds, London

Despite the title of his new album, North Carolina alt-pop pianist Ben Folds doesn't do normal. His live shows are characterised by a healthy disregard for the wellbeing of his battered keyboard, self-deprecating humour and a burning enthusiasm for quirky fun. The latest twist is a "fake album" - a collection of new tracks written, recorded and mixed during a single day off touring, each bearing the name of a counterpart on his most recent LP, Way To Normal. Several doppelgangers were offered alongside the originals at the show. Thus, for instance, ‘Bitch Went Nuts’ is recharacterised as the typically kooky story of a coked-up leftist who ruined her lover's chances to impress at a Republican fundraiser (complete with an enormous background projection of Jimmy Carter's face superimposed on her body). Genuine tracks from the new album dominated the set. Highlights included the wry humour and toe-tapping swagger of ‘Brainwascht’, and the duet ‘You Don't Know Me’, a tale of romance succumbing to apathy which benefited from an eerily accurate Regina Spektor impersonation by Rachel Unthank of the charming gypsy-folk support act Rachel Unthank & The Winterset. Later a can of Altoids placed among the piano strings facilitates the faux-techno sound of ‘Free Coffee’. Though their hairlines recede, Folds's loyal fans have lost none of their enthusiasm. They scarcely needed prompting to join in on audience participation anthems like ’Army’ and ‘Not The Same’, although if anything they were even more receptive to pretty ballads ‘Cologne’ and ‘Fred Jones Part II’, as well as the soaring fist-clencher ‘Still Fighting It’. Grinning and quipping between tracks, Folds gave the impression of a man who was completely comfortable with his audience. But any suggestion of complacency could be dismissed by the show's typically energetic finale, a blisteringly frenetic rendition of ‘One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces’. Officially the reason for the high-octane crescendo was the need to respect the impending curfew, but one suspects Folds - a natural entertainer - couldn't resist the opportunity to discharge one last burst of fevered enthusiasm.