Review: Lime Cordiale with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra @ Festival Theatre 11/6/26
The songs were unmistakably Lime Cordiale, but with added richness courtesy of the ASO.
Words & Images Satine Richmond
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On a chilly winter’s night in Adelaide, Sydney’s indie-pop duo Lime Cordiale joined forces with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Vanessa Scammell, with orchestral arrangements by Alex Turley. Brothers Oli and Louis Leimbach were no strangers to this kind of collaboration, as last year they toured the symphony show across Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Queensland and WA. Adelaide marked the final performance in the national run.
Happy punters milled around the Festival Theatre, some lingering near the doors, peering to see the stage set up as ushers guided early arrivals to their rows. The symphony aspect had pulled in an older audience, shuffling along the aisles before settling into their seats, curious to see what an indie-pop band would bring, backed by a full ensemble. It created an interesting blend of seasoned symphony-goers sitting alongside teenagers in band tees. The orchestra was already seated on stage, warming up instruments and adjusting their sheet music as the last few people hurried down the aisles with whispered apologies as they squeezed past.
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was made up of impressive lines of black-clad, classically trained musicians clutching at their instruments. Scammell walked onstage to warm applause, dressed immaculately in a flowing black dress, the layers of fabric shifting as she took her place on the podium. Her blonde curls were illuminated in the white spotlight as she turned her back on the eager crowd, the light reflecting harshly off the score in front of her. The orchestra lifted their instruments slowly at the lift of her baton, playing a soft, glistening tune beneath a Welcome to Country.
From the shadows stage left, Oli and Louis Leimbach stepped in front of the orchestra to ecstatic applause. It was a hair-raising introduction to the orchestra's combination with Lime Cordiale, as Oli lightly strummed his guitar to the tune of ‘Money’. The orchestra swelled, then dropped away suddenly, leaving only the rhythm of the drums and Oli’s guitar beneath Louis’ voice. With the intimacy of a pub gig in the grandeur of the Festival Theatre, rows upon rows of eager fans sat in this massive room listening to his isolated vocal. As they reached the chorus, the orchestra picked back up, and the audience immediately recognised how transformational the orchestral arrangements were going to be.
Jumping straight into ‘Temper Temper’, the pair looked out and up at the rows of people towering above them, lights bouncing off the ceiling of the magnificent Festival Theatre. On its own, the song is sharp and punchy, but with the orchestra behind them, it opened up into something more dramatic. Between songs, Oli played the role of the band’s spokesman, leaning forward to address the people in front of him.
“Sorry to the front rows for spitting all over you,” Oli joked good-naturedly as he broke the formality of the evening. “My name’s Oli, and this is my little brother Louis.” He held a hand up towards his brother, earning a supportive round of applause. “This one’s for you, Louis, this one’s called ‘Screw Loose’.”
Before the final chorus, they stepped away from the front of the stage, giving space for the orchestra to build slowly. Yellow lights ebbed behind them as the fun, upbeat track drew to a close. The songs were unmistakably Lime Cordiale, but with added richness courtesy of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
After the final notes of the song, Oli looked up at the audience, “Alright, please give it up to my little brother Louis!” He introduced their bandmates joining the orchestra onstage, who performed drums, guitar and backup vocals. “Our conductor for tonight, Vanessa Scammell!” She turned around and waved at the audience, smiling at the enthusiasm of the crowd, who were clapping vigorously. “And your very own Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, please give it up!” The ensemble stood up to receive their applause,
‘Addicted to the Sunshine’ and ‘Naturally’ saw beams of yellow light swooping over the audience, washing the theatre in a warm, summery glow. The strings moved in perfect unison, bows gliding gracefully. “We grew up playing the clarinet and trumpet,” Oli explained after the songs’ close. “And our mum, she’s a classical musician - playing the cello - so we grew up as classically trained musicians -” He took a beat, scrunching his face as he leaned towards the crowd. “Sounds so wanky, doesn’t it?” The audience burst into laughter, the orchestra smiling behind them knowingly.
Those moments where the grandeur of the setting fell away and was replaced with the easy, self-deprecating charm of the brothers were engaging. Oli glanced over at Louis. “We’re really just doing this for our mum. For us to play in an orchestra in front of a crowd is a bucket list moment, really.” He took a moment to praise arranger Alex Turley for letting them “talk in that wanky language again.”
“A lot of artists with an orchestra want it to sound bigger,” Oli gestured, sweeping his arms widely. “But we wanted this to be an experience.” Between ‘Elephant in the Room’ and ‘Enough of the Sweet Talk’, Oli addressed the crowd again. “Now, I need to give you some information…there’s an interval coming up, so don’t just walk off and think this thing is over. Get some wine…that’s the best thing about a sit-down show.” He paused before adding humorously, “You know what? Have a little snooze in the second act.”
‘Enough of the Sweet Talk’ and ‘Love is off the Table’ closed the first act, sending the audience off to the interval. Before the break, Oli was handed a sax, which he slung around his neck while Louis picked up his trumpet, which had been resting on the floor in front of him. They joined in with the orchestra, while their guitarist stepped to the front to let loose on his electric guitar. The brothers gave a wave to the crowd and walked offstage with Scammell as the house lights lifted for the twenty-minute interval.
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Many took to wandering the foyer, grabbing drinks from the bar and chatting excitedly about the first half of the show. Others drifted towards the merch stand to eye off vinyls and t-shirts, while groups clustered near the balcony rails to watch the slow-moving river of people below. After the chimes signalling the commencement of the show, the orchestra played softly as people retook their seats.
The lights dimmed before Scammell came out and bowed to applause. Then, the boys strolled out, greeted by cheers as they slipped into their positions centre-stage behind mic stands. The orchestra began the intro to 2024’s ‘Colin’. The crowd instinctively lifted their phone flashlights as the pair gazed up at the sea of moving lights filling the three levels of the Festival Theatre. The arrangement felt airy and cinematic before it kicked into its groove in the chorus. After the song closed, Oli gave a chef’s kiss. “Don’t be afraid to get up and dance,” he said pointedly to the audience. “You don’t wanna be that first person to stand up... but you have my full permission.”
Before the next song, Louis showed off his kazoo to the crowd while Oli explained, “We gave the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra a tutorial, as it’s quite complex stuff.” During ‘No Plans to Make Plans’, the atmosphere in the theatre loosened noticeably. A few brave audience members stood up to dance in the narrow space between the seats. Their confidence earned a ripple of supportive cheers from the rest of the crowd. As the chorus rolled in and the orchestra pushed the song into an exciting, full production, more people rose to their feet until the whole of the Festival Theatre was a mass of moving bodies. At one point, Louis wandered over to Oli’s clarinet with a mischievous grin, sticking his finger up the bottom of the instrument. Oli pushed his head away playfully in mock outrage as the crowd laughed at the brotherly cheekiness. Louis held up his kazoo dramatically as the orchestra played theirs badly behind him. It was corny but hilarious.
After playing 2015 single ‘Hanging Upside Down’, “How’s everyone up the top feeling?” Oli squinted up at the grand circle. “Can’t see you very well, but ooh, looking good!” After the laughter died down, Oli revealed, “We’re going to play an unreleased song now. It’s going to be on our next album.” Oli told the crowd that their dad had chosen assisted dying after a long battle with cancer. One of his final wishes was to see their symphony show at the Sydney Opera House, but he didn’t end up making it.
“We wrote this song for him called ‘Household Name’,” Oli said, briefly glancing at Louis. He went on to describe their dad as a documentary maker. In his last few days he was worried about unfinished projects, but they wrote the song to reassure him that he was already a “household name”. “We managed to play this song for him,” Oli added, before he and Louis joined together for an homage to their late father. The strings wrapped around the brothers’ vocals as the audience was swept up in the emotion.
Bouncing back from that sombre moment, they shifted the energy with ease. “We had to save Adelaide for last!” Oli gassed up the audience. “It’s hard to get in your schedule - you have a festival every bloody month!” For crowd pleasers ‘Cold Treatment’ and ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’, everyone stood up again to dance. Before they completed the final chorus, Oli leaned into the mic, “Thank you so much, we’re Lime Cordiale, this is the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra!” There was thunderous applause as they and the conductor left the stage swiftly. The crowd, however, had other plans, refusing to sit down as they kept the standing ovation going.
They came back out for an encore of breezy, upbeat single ‘Waking Up Easy’ from their debut album, Permanent Vacation. Beams of white shone through the yellow-lit stage as Oli and Louis ducked backstage to grab their guitars for fan-favourite ‘Robbery’. Up and dancing, it seemed the crowd had saved their energy for the big finish, clapping along enthusiastically. After the last notes, the band lined up with Scammell and their band, the orchestra setting down their instruments behind them, looking up at the sea of people on their feet. The theatre roared as the group bowed again and again, leaning into the bit with a comedic flair. The crowd loved it, the laughter mixing with cheers as the standing ovation swelled even louder.
The applause settled and the musicians filtered offstage. There was a lingering feeling that Adelaide had been privy to something far more special than an average tour stop. Lime Cordiale’s easy humour and infectious energy paired seamlessly with the precision and warmth of Turley’s orchestral arrangements. The set list provided a fantastic mix of songs from their three studio albums, along with tracks released over 10 years ago. Performing their award-winning discography accompanied by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Lime Cordiale proved how their songs stand the test of genre. For the Leimbach brothers, it was clearly a milestone, and for the audience, it was a reminder of how thrilling live music can be when artists take risks.
