Photo credit: Jack Shepherd<\/p>\n
Review by Sophia Blair<\/p>\n
Lime Cordiale turned The Royale into their own personal playground on Saturday night, delivering a performance that was equal parts electric, theatrical, and downright hilarious. From the moment they stormed the stage and launched into \u201cPedestal\u201d and then the iconic \u201cTemper Temper,\u201d backed by trippy, space-like visuals, it was clear this wouldn\u2019t be just another gig. This was a Lime Cordiale experience.<\/span><\/p>\n The night kicked off with The Orphan The Poet, who set the tone with an energetic opening set before Lime Cordiale took over. As the stage lights shifted and the first chords rang out, the packed crowd knew they were in for something special.<\/span><\/p>\n The band, fronted by brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach, has a way of making a room feel like a giant, chaotic family reunion. Early in the set, Oli hyped up the crowd, reminding Boston that their shows here are among the rowdiest they\u2019ve ever played. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a lot to live up to, alright?\u201d he teased. Challenge accepted. The energy in the room was a perfect match for the band\u2019s own uninhibited stage presence.<\/span><\/p>\n Between songs, the brothers leaned into their signature banter, diving headfirst into Boston\u2019s rivalry with New York. \u201cWe were just in New York, and they told me to send you a message,\u201d Oli said, playing it up. \u201cThey said… fuck the Red Sox. I don\u2019t know what that means!\u201d The audience immediately erupted in boos and laughter, proving that Lime Cordiale knows exactly how to work a crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n The night was packed with highlights, from the anthemic \u201cNaturally\u201d and \u201cCountry Club\u201d to \u201cEnough of the Sweet Talk,\u201d the title track for their album that came out last year. It took on an even groovier, more dynamic quality live. A cheeky, self-love-dedicated cover of \u201cI Touch Myself\u201d by Divinyls was complete with dazzling visuals that fit the theme of the song. But perhaps the most unhinged moment came during the infamous Lime Cordiale \u201clightweight championship\u201d fight, where the brothers dramatically faced off in boxing robes as their \u201ccoaches\u201d hyped them up. A referee even came out, whistle in hand, before they launched into \u201cNo Plans to Make Plans.\u201d It was absurd, theatrical, and so uniquely them\u2014something Oli had told me they\u2019ve embraced in their performances. \u201cWe\u2019re absolute weirdos,\u201d he said, and they don\u2019t shy away from it. Their live shows blend cabaret-style theatrics with tight musicianship, creating a set that feels as much like a fever dream as it does a concert.<\/span><\/p>\n The energy never wavered as they powered through \u201cLove Is Off the Table,\u201d \u201cColin,\u201d and \u201cWhen I\u2019m Losing It.\u201d The latter hit especially hard, given the emotional depth Oli described in the album\u2019s overarching theme, following a relationship from friendship to romance to heartbreak and back to strangers. Their musicianship was unbelievable. Their voices, somehow gritty and smooth and full of life, surfed seamlessly alongside the instrumentals. As the set continued, it became clear that their dynamic chemistry wasn\u2019t just reserved for the Leimbach brothers. Guitarist Jack Howe, drummer Luke DiDio, and keyboardist Alex Weybury each added their own magic, making the performance feel effortlessly tight yet spontaneous.<\/span><\/p>\n Whether it was Louis chugging a beer with a fan in the front row or Oli recounting how he turned a silent treatment from his wife into the song \u201cCold Treatment,\u201d their performance felt magnetically in the moment. Their energy bounced between the stage and audience like a game of musical pinball, reaching a fever pitch during \u201cMoney\u201d and \u201cRisky Love.\u201d The Boston crowd fully met them there. When I asked Oli about the best audiences they\u2019ve played for, he told me Sydney might have some competition. Boston crowds, he said, are right up there, sharing that rowdy, music-loving Irish heritage. Judging by the way Royale shook when they launched into Money, he might be onto something.<\/span><\/p>\n Before winding down, Oli took a moment to acknowledge Louis’ creative talents beyond music. \u201cLouis designs all of our merch: T-shirts, posters, vinyls. You know, we designed it for New York Fashion Week,\u201d he joked. \u201cHe\u2019s the annoyingly talented little brother.\u201d The audience cheered in appreciation, proving that Lime Cordiale\u2019s charm extends far beyond their music.<\/span><\/p>\n They transitioned into \u201cWaking Up Easy,\u201d and then, it was time for the long-anticipated \u201cRobbery,\u201d before closing out with the fan-favorite \u201cInappropriate Behaviour,\u201d set to a backdrop of goofy, fun home video footage.<\/span><\/p>\n By the time the final notes rang out, it was hard not to feel completely swept up in the world they had created for the past 90 minutes. Their enormous musical talent combined with their unmistakably organic Australian sound and energy left the Boston crowd buzzing. If this was a battle between Boston and New York, let\u2019s just say Boston walked away with the belt.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Jack Shepherd Review by Sophia Blair Lime Cordiale turned The Royale into their own personal playground on Saturday night, delivering a performance that was equal parts electric, theatrical, and downright hilarious. From the moment they stormed the stage and launched into \u201cPedestal\u201d and then the iconic \u201cTemper Temper,\u201d backed by trippy, space-like visuals, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21925,"featured_media":47123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[2309,138],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47122"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47124,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47122\/revisions\/47124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}