Live Review: Lime Cordiale, Nova & The Experience

Fun. noun: 1. Something that provides mirth or amusement. 2. Enjoyment or playfulness.

Nova & The Experience are a fun band. This becames apparent almost as soon as they took to the stage, where half the band were dressed in sailing attire and the other half were dressed up with their best dopey grins. Throughout their performance they urged people to put on sailors hats that they created from newspapers they had brought along. They play a very bubbly, dancey brand of pop, which would be at home on any summer festival circuit stage. Watching them play was a refreshing break from many of the bands playing the Sydney scene at the moment. They clearly don't take themselves too seriously, despite their obvious musicianship; their primary concern is having a good time, and all accounts would indicate they accomplished this mission.

Lime Cordiale then took the stage, five grungy hipsters perpetuating a certain cliché. Then the trombone comes out, and oh boy is it a game changer. Lime Cordiale are a fun band – they blend summer surf and cool, like you've taken the most delicious Newtown pad Thai across to Bondi, and they make everyone in the room move. By the time they get round to playing crowd favourites Bullshit Aside and Sleeping At Your Door, everyone is dancing – and much to the band's delight at least a third of the audience are on stage, go-going. 

This was a memorable show. Both bands played quite well, but what made it particularly brilliant was just how fun it all was. They provided ample amounts of amusement, and from that the audience was able to extract a great deal of enjoyment. Tonight was a dictionary definition of fun.