Words by Kate Lockyer
Majestic is not usually a word you’d use for Lime Cordiale – cheeky, unserious, quirky, maybe. But with an assembly of Queensland’s finest musicians at their back, they filled The Fortitude Music Hall with something beyond their usual fare. Lime Cordiale with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the dazzling Vanessa Scammell, was triumphant on Saturday night. For once, the chandeliers dangling from the ceiling of The Fortitude Music Hall felt perfectly suited to the tenor of the performance, as the orchestra swelled.
To kick off the show, the opening riff of Money drifted over the stage, with the chimes and lightness of violin transforming a cynical imputation to one big orchestral sigh. It was all slow and calm as if you had jumped off a diving board and now you were gliding through the water. When Lime joined in, the bite was back to the music, lime lights evoking greenbacks, but underlaid by a sweeping breadth of sound from the orchestra.
Temper Temper saw the bronze timbre of Oli’s guitar offset by the smoothness of the strings – if he was the fiery lover, the strings were the temperate partner. The brass section came into full force towards the end, perhaps the argument taking full flight.
The band, having taken on a new line-up recently, now features Luke DiDio on drums, Jack Howe on guitar, Alex Weybury usually on keys but on this occasion switching between backing vocals and guitar, and of course Louis and Oliver Leimbach on vocals, guitar, and various other instruments.
Things got kooky for Screw Loose, with ska-like guitar effects that mirrored the kookaburra that chuckles in the recording of the song, and the trombones and brass section having a field day. Percussion like a jackhammer evoked a chaotic construction site, and a strings part near the end jabbed at this unruly persona with the screw loose. When they later played Upside Down, another one of their absurdist, fun tracks, the brass got involved again to great effect, bluesy trombones and all.
Oli said the show was an opportunity to pull out some lesser-loved tracks with some more complex constructions. “Some of these songs we don’t play too often. Maybe we’re a bit scared there are too many parts to cover, but we’ve got a whole symphony orchestra tonight, so we can play whatever we want!”
The addition of a live strings section to Addicted To The Sunshine added warmth to the track, a combination of pizzicato and legato playing like sonic rays of sun over the audience while brass came in like sand under your feet and wooden percussion added to the tropical feel. Oli identified them as hippies, and you can’t help but feel connected with our beautiful country as you listen.
Naturally is rooted in its rhythms, and the percussion, along with the band starting off syncopated clapping from the audience, kept an ostensibly laidback song on track with its more complex arrangement. A new romance in the song comes out in the fuller arrangement, flute trills and woodwind setting hearts aflutter.
While Oli called the collab with the orchestra a bucket list item, he confessed it was really all for their Mum, who is a cellist who taught the brothers classical music, “so she can boast to her friends”. “We’re band nerds,” he said, and added they were excited to “go back to our wanky roots”.
In fact, the arrangement for orchestra they have taken on tour around the country was done by a Brisbane composer, Alex Turley. For each of their songs, the orchestra dialled up the pathos, quickening strings in Elephant In The Room ramping up the tension, and turning the heartbreak cinematic in Strangers. A wash of sound over us built a lush background for Oli to play the riff from Colin, finishing with a moment of shimmering reflection with Emily Granger’s harp.
In Enough Of The Sweet Talk, which saw Oli on lead vocals, the playful orchestra was like Catherine Wheel fireworks whirling, sounds jetting into the air above us. My favourite parts of the song, though, were the stripped back vocal harmonies at the end.
Moody strings and dramatic cymbals in Love Is Off The Table complemented the band through the melancholy story. Louie got his own trumpet out, while Oli jumped on the sax, and Howe treated us to a lead guitar solo to conclude the song, finishing with a flourish as he threw his pick into the audience.
No Plans To Make Plans saw the band bring out more of their own instruments, with Oli on clarinet this time and of course, their kazoos. Even Scammell, conductor extraordinaire, got in on the fun, blowing into her kazoo even as she directed the orchestra and kept time. Frisky staccato from the flutes and clarinets, while the trumpets sang out, added to the whimsical, chaotic feel of the song as Louie had fun riffing on vocals.
The brothers seemed completely undaunted up onstage, but they have actually been going through a period of grief. In a moment of creative generosity, they shared something really special with us on Saturday night – an unreleased song dedicated to their Dad, Bill Leimbach, who passed away only a few months ago.
Oli said of their Dad, “He was our biggest supporter, our biggest hero, and he would have loved to have been here. A lot of kids idolise their dads, and we spoke to him every day. He was such a big supporter, he managed our band and got it off the ground… we definitely wouldn’t be here without him.”
He said they were working on a father-son project, a documentary about the band, and their Dad was anxious and sad about the unfinished business of not being able to complete the project. Oli said that to them, the most important thing was that they got to spend time with him. He said they know their Dad would have wanted to see them keep performing.
The song, Household Name, was touching tribute to him, and they said the message behind it was that life is really about the people you care for, not what you accomplish. “No doubt, in this house, you’re a household name,” they sang, flutes chiming in heavenly bursts and symphonic instrumental buoying the love pouring from the song.
Then they launched into a couple of their hits. Cold Treatment featured strings playing minor scale harmonies and the chimes, orchestral flourishes like chill breezes blowing across the stage. Oli, not to be outdone by the orchestra, even played his guitar with his teeth. Inappropriate Behaviour got a cinematic intro, transformed from its original nonchalant pop demeanour to a song with Main Character Energy.
Oli teased the audience before their next song. “Can you sing?” he asked. When he was answered with rowdy cheers, he replied, “I know you can scream, heckle, but can you sing?! We’re dealing with sone of the best musicians in the world, make sure you’re in tune!” Waking Up Easy sure got the crowd singing along, given a calmer, at peace feel with the orchestra behind it.
At last – their encore song. At other gigs, Robbery would get an elaborate intro on keys, but on this night, the first violin took on the mantle with a breathtaking display of what a classical musician can do with a dizzying flurry of notes that would have seemed at home in a Mozart. As he gradually slowed down, we started to pick our jaws up off the floor and heard a familiar melody laced into the music (the ‘there’s been a robbery’ melody). I can safely say it was the best robbery intro yet, as talented as the band’s keys player is.
Lime Cordiale, along with Alex Turley and Vanessa Scammell, can be congratulated for a seamless collaboration that brought the joys of classical orchestration together with the mischief of our beloved Aussie pop band to punters on Brunswick Street.
Thu 16 October: Sydney Opera House, Sydney w/ Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Fri 17 October: Sydney Opera House, Sydney w/ Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sat 18 October: Sydney Opera House, Sydney w/ Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Fri 14 November: Riverside Theatre, Perth w/ West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Sat 15 November: Riverside Theatre, Perth w/ West Australian Symphony Orchestra
With thanks to Positive Feedback
Discover more from Good Call Live
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
