Playing to a packed crowd at Monterey Live before headlining act The Ditty Bops take the stage, Vermillion Lies attempts something most bands wouldn’t even think of: a rousing solo where Zoe Boekbinder plays a barbecue grill with some broken xylophone pipes.

Following the feat, Vermillion Lies, which tonight is Zoe and sister Kim, return to playing a new song titled “I Found Myself,” which features Kim strumming an acoustic guitar and singing lyrics like, “Today, I found myself/ right where I left me/ on that shelf.”

“The song doesn’t end ‘til you are all singing,” Kim cajoles the crowd. The audience responds by attempting to sing along like a crowd of kindergarteners.

After plowing through another number—a fast paced, foot-stompin’ original called “White Picket,” where Zoe supplies percussion by impressively banging on several cooking pot tops and a thermos—Kim makes an announcement. “We are going to cook for you,” she says. A lady in the audience fires back: “I’ll come to every show.”

Then, donning a top hat, Kim starts playing a toy piano as her sister plays acoustic guitar. The sultry, jazzy number, titled “Circus Fish,” features the sisters trading zesty lines about cooking that the crowd eats up with bursts of applause and laughter.

It’s one of many great moments that show how far these young women have progressed as musicians and performers since forming Vermillion Lies almost a year and a half ago in Monterey. Last summer, when I saw the band at the Henry Miller Library, Vermillion Lies had potential but were a little wobbly, but now both sisters seem as comfortable onstage as in their own living room.