Where the Bands Are (Lime Cordiale, 30 March 2024, NYC, USA)

When we decided to go to NYC for Easter to see Zach Bryan we were discussing wether to see one or two shows. Unsurprisingly, after a quick Google search, we found quite a few options for evening entertainment in the city that never sleeps. One of the names that came up was Lime Cordiale, an indie pop rock band. We took a while to watch YouTube clips and to research the discography to gauge if they were our jam or not and we agreed to go see them.

Already in the waiting line we understood that our presence would raise the average age of the audience considerably. Two young men in front of us were very friendly and talkative and they told us we were up for a treat when we mentioned that this was our first Lime Cordiale show. They had to show their ID to get in, but nobody wanted to check mine 🙂

The Music Hall of Williamsburg is located in Brooklyn and it doesn’t look much from the outside but once you get in, it is actually a very nice venue to see a show. The industrial looking venue consists of three levels. There’s the traditional rectangular main room in front of the stage with raised platforms on either side and there is an upper balcony. Downstairs you find bathrooms and a large bar area. The standing concert capacity is 650.

Windser, another band we hadn’t heard of before, was the opening act for the concert. The band is frontman Jordan Topf. I really enjoyed Windser. I think he was a great choice to open up for Lime Cordiale and to pump up the crowd. He was a funny and charismatic guy, who interacted with the crowd throughout his set. He kept asking for the names of audience members, sometimes getting them totally wrong, and dedicated songs to them. The venue was nearly full by the end of Windser’s set and people were laughing and dancing with one another

Lime Cordiale came on around 10pm and when they took the stage, we quickly learned that they were Australians. The group is fronted by brothers Louis and Oli Leimbach, Felix Bornholdt plays the keyboards, James Jennings the drums, and Nick Polovineo the trombone and the guitar. Their energy and their contact with the audience was immediate and we could tell we were in for an entertaining performance. Not only was their music filled with infectious melodies and clever lyrics, but they also performed with various different instruments, ones you may not normally expect at a rock show, including a trombone, a trumpet, a clarinet and even a kazoo. This gave the band a unique groove that I liked a lot.

The Leimbach brothers interacted a lot with the audience during the show. They were joking and sharing stories and bantering between songs including a “crowd war” split right down the middle, creating an intimate and inclusive atmosphere (see the youtube clips below).

The crowd called for an encore after the band initially left the stage, Oli and Louis returned for an acoustic performance with the band gradually returning to the stage through the song. They finished with two more songs before closing the set. The show was fun and exciting and I enjoyed the music, which made me want to dance all night. I really want to prompt everyone who hasn’t seen them to try and catch them. I know I will!

Check out their tour schedule here.