While Shambhala was teeming with extroverted characters and, ahem, interesting behaviour, it was evident no one was totally prepared for the Hank and Lily show. Playing to a sparse but dedicated following in Shambhala's Rock Pit on the final night of BC's mostly electronic music festival, the Victoria duo and their full backing band hit the stage like Devo on shrooms.
Co-singers Hank Pine and Lily Fawn seemed generally excited to be playing the festival, but their irony-laced satire was thankfully not lost beneath a blanket of pure enthusiasm. In other words, as much as the few in attendance danced, they danced with awkward trepidation. Pine lilted his deep croon and Fawn did her little-girl-sing-song thing, the one major difference being their twisted cabaret act was this time transformed into an electronic dance set.
Playing bouncy but oddball tunes from their latest album, Crank City, a departure into synth-driven dance music, Hank and Lily used goofy props and their very own go-go dancer (who, incidentally, knew every word to every one of their songs) to create one of the strangest spectacles at Shambhala. The ABBA-fied "Radio Waves," with its mid-song glitch-out, and "The Money Song," complete with a hip-swinging reggae-dance beat and sultry Fawn vocals, were the set highlights.
Good to see Shambhala mixing it up and taking risks, which, in the case of Hank and Lily, paid off, even if it was via the fake money adorned with Hank and Lily's insignia thrown in the Rock Pit.
Co-singers Hank Pine and Lily Fawn seemed generally excited to be playing the festival, but their irony-laced satire was thankfully not lost beneath a blanket of pure enthusiasm. In other words, as much as the few in attendance danced, they danced with awkward trepidation. Pine lilted his deep croon and Fawn did her little-girl-sing-song thing, the one major difference being their twisted cabaret act was this time transformed into an electronic dance set.
Playing bouncy but oddball tunes from their latest album, Crank City, a departure into synth-driven dance music, Hank and Lily used goofy props and their very own go-go dancer (who, incidentally, knew every word to every one of their songs) to create one of the strangest spectacles at Shambhala. The ABBA-fied "Radio Waves," with its mid-song glitch-out, and "The Money Song," complete with a hip-swinging reggae-dance beat and sultry Fawn vocals, were the set highlights.
Good to see Shambhala mixing it up and taking risks, which, in the case of Hank and Lily, paid off, even if it was via the fake money adorned with Hank and Lily's insignia thrown in the Rock Pit.
