MON APR 11

@ THE TREEHOUSE
887 CHAMBERS RD
COLUMBUS OH

FRANZ NICOLAY (ex-hold steady)
"Eclectic and ambitious but unshowy, Major General is about as satisfying as any solo effort from a member of an established band still killing it themselves as I can think of...Major General hits some massive highs and nary a single crushing low. Nicolay's skill at playing punk sage on one song and slightly troubled troubadour on the next is really something special." - Pitchfork

DAVID DONDERO (team love records)
Singer/songwriter David Dondero's musical career began in 1993, when he released the first of three records as a member of the alt-rock band Sunbrain. But since he split the band and headed out on his own, his music has been more comparable to such American folk music/troubadour greats as Woody Guthrie and Townes Van Zandt. The year 2001 saw the release of his solo effort Shooting at the Sun With a Water Gun, an album in which Dondero assumes the role of different characters for nearly each song (while some were biographical, such as "Analysis of a 1970's Divorce," which recounts his parents' split). The album was produced by Billy Konkel, and was recorded in Konkel's living room. In 2003 he released Transient, his second full-length for Future Farmer records, and the next year the album Live at the Hemlock, taken from a February 2003 performance in San Francisco, came out. In 2005 the singer moved to Team Love, the label run by Brighteyes' Conor Oberst -- who lists Dondero as an influence -- and Sound of the South was issued later that year. In 2007 Simple Love was released, followed by a tour opening for recent rock crictics' darlings Against Me!. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

DOLFISH
Clutching his '57 Silvertone and dressed up in Flower Child vintage boutique's finest cowboy attire, Max Sollisch explained what recently attracted him to country music. "I like the vibe of it," Sollisch said. "I like how a lot of country songs can be a bit humorous and a bit hokey then kind of have this underlying level of seriousness or sorrow. They don't seem to take themselves too seriously." Sollisch, 22, seems to adopt a new guise with each release. When his collegiate folk-pop outfit Our Cat Philip dissolved, he brought elements of prog and improv into the mix and founded Arlo & the Otter. Now he's created Dolfish as an outlet for twangy, jangling solo songs. The first Dolfish EP, "Your Love Is Bummin' Me Out," burns through five tracks in eight minutes. It's country the way Conor Oberst does country, imbued with doe-eyed emotion instead of gruff machismo. "I'm Proud of You, Johanna" is probably the first country song to namedrop Dashboard Confessional. It's also doused in noise and reverb, courtesy of no-frills recording by Ghost Shirt's Brandon Barnett. Sollisch cut the fat, building arrangements strictly as a backdrop for his lyrics. "I'm not into writing for people to have to hardcore decipher what I'm saying," he said. "For the most part I want to tell stories and I want you to understand." The difference this time is that these lyrics are pure fiction, a chance for Sollisch to flex his literary muscle in Twitter-sized bursts. "Everything else I've done has been, like, embarrassingly autobiographical," he said.

9 PM
$10
21+ (sorry, pal.)

much better.

bing bong.