Lime Cordiale are the complete entertainment package – masters of the crowd-pleasing moment. The audience at Thebby on Friday night were ready to meet that challenge, set for a rollicking great time. And that’s exactly what the band delivered.

But it all started with the support act, The Rions. It’s unusual to see punters so engaged with the first act of the night – but the Unearthed High winners had them cheering and singing along enthusiastically to each song. Not bad for a fresh act on the scene. And their crisp, dreamy tunes set the high-energy tone for the night. There were even calls for an encore at the end of their set – such was the charisma of the performance!

Lime Cordiale are well aware of the theatricality of their material – songs inhabited by colourful characters and punctuated by clever wordplay – and all set to a musical palette that runs a little deeper than your average band. Accordingly, they began their set almost in cabaret mode, posing dramatically in tableau at the front of stage while backlit, and then launching into ‘On Our Own’ and other tracks from their 2020 LP.

Essentially an act that revolves around brothers, Louis and Oli Leimbach, the extended touring act makes for a very impressive ensemble that boasts diverse musical talents: incorporating trombone, clarinet, trumpet and even kazoo on top of the standard rock band set up of guitars, bass, keys and drums. And it really makes for a great show!

It also allows for some excellent dynamics. Mid-set we were left with just the brothers and an acoustic sing-along of their early track, ‘Waking Up Easy’, which then moved into a thumping trombone solo and the full band back on stage for the big sound of ‘Hanging Upside Down’ – a real highlight of the night!

There was a good mix of the old an the new – the titular tune of the tour, ‘Facts of Life’ going down very nicely. However, there was nothing from the Cordi Elba collaboration – I guess Idris Elba is off audition for Bond or something!

The energy of the performance was exemplified in one moment where Louis climbed up into the opera box at stage left and sat for a while with feet dangling over the edge above the crowd. The peak moment for the audience was probably the Divinyls cover at the end of the main set, singing every word to ‘I Touch Myself’.

For the encore, a piano solo led into the band’s biggest hit, ‘Robbery’, before they finished with ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’ from that same album.

Lime Cordiale left us with a return to same posturing that began the set, capping off a highly polished, crowd-pleasing and thoroughly entertaining night!

You can view our full photo gallery of the gig here.

Reviewed by Matthew Trainor

Photos by Kay Cann