Reviewed on Thursday October 24
Brass instruments and energetic sing-alongs with Cosmo Jarvis and Lime Cordiale inside the sweatiest corner of Parramatta Road on a Thursday night: clearly a recipe for good times. The good times began with “The Lime Cordials” (as Jarvis teasingly christened them), who, true to their unique sense of pop, belted out a mix of songs from their two EPs and even treated the audience with a generous handful of new songs. Trombones inches away from people’s faces and brotherly harmonies engaged the crowd almost as much as Louis Leimbach’s perfectly pitched yells and drawly growls. Long intros and a verbal ad or two proclaiming the drummer’s singleness kept the set fresh and induced equal amounts of giggles and sways.
Lime Cordiale provoked bellowing applause as they left the stage, the kind of applause that makes your plastic cup of poison vibrate gleefully. And just when you thought the Annandale patrons couldn’t be more thankful, the applause re-erupted when the humble Cosmo Jarvis hopped onto the stage. Jarvis returned the thanks by giving his fans a more-than-solid performance.
‘Whatever’, the ultimate opener, emitted breezy vibes via Jarvis’ precious mandolin. Jarvis proved himself a vocal master at transitioning from melodic niceties in one line to screaming angst in the next. His storytelling found a comfortable home on the Annandale stage, where he revelled in both old and new tunes, and jammed alongside the boys from Lime Cordiale and all of their brass for ‘She Doesn’t Mind’.
It was clear for anyone to see that Jarvis is a genuine guy who is passionate about his art form (whether that be music or film), and who works extraordinarily hard – the streams of sweat racing down his face all night were testament to that fact. He chose crowd favourite ‘Gay Pirates’ to finish on, during which one brave young male did what everyone secretly wanted to do. The free-spirited lad jumped onstage to plant a big fat one on Jarvis’ lips, and everyone gasped and squealed in fits of tangled joy and jealousy.
A good sport and an honest troubadour, Cosmo Jarvis, along with the talented Lime Cordiale, put on a rollicking good show that fixed immovable grins on everyone’s faces.
BY KATIE DAVERN
