Last night I ventured out to Avondale to hit Abbey Pub for the very first time. A short walk from the Addison blue line train stop, the club seems perfect for local groups to hone their skills. But I know that they get some bigger acts in there as well, and if you can get tickets to one of those it’s a nice small venue. I got to 3420 W Grace around 9:30 after being told that My My My would go on at 9:45. The band before them played past that time, so punctuality is not the top priority at Abbey Pub. 

Luckily that didn’t matter because the band that was on stage was a lot of fun. They’re called The Roalde Dahls, and before last night I’d never heard of them. Frontman Dylan Flynn has a wacky stage presence that makes it feel like he’s having more fun than anyone in the audience. Nikko Paoulos is brilliant on the synths and their drummer Esteban Martinez didn’t miss a beat. I’m excited to check out more from the three-piece after this performance.

My My My began to set up around 10 and I was surprised to see that the stage at Abbey Pub that looks like it fits about four people comfortably, was able to accommodate all six members plus the three singers currently making up The Peoples. Filled to capacity, the stage featured guitar, bass, keys, synths, drums, KEYTAR, as well as the two main vocalists Russell Baylin and Sarah Snow.

The set featured some new songs, to be released on the tentatively titled Tigers On The Dancefloor in a couple months (according to Baylin). The short set also featured older favorites, like “Starting To Change,” but the main focus was on the new, and it’s obvious they’ve been hard at work crafting great songs for the record. There hasn’t been a huge stylistic change in the music, but the tunes seem to be more polished and mature than their previous releases. We won’t know for sure until we hear the whole thing, but I’m optimistic that Tigers On The Dancefloor will be My My My’s best record yet.

I think the thing I’m most impressed with, in a live setting anyway, is that the vocals come across very clear. With Baylin and Sarah Snow sharing lead vocal duty, plus three backup singers and other people in the band, there were times when as many as seven or eight people were singing and it never seemed like the voices were flooding one another. I’ve been to shows where one person singing sounds like garbage, so to be able to know where each individuals voice needs to be in order to sound good is hard work and My My My did it with ease.

We have a while before we’ll get the new record, but the band has put out plenty of dancey indie rock/synth pop jams to hold you over until then. Check out some of their stuff on their Facebook page.