Listen to Gabe Dixon jam, live

It’s a mournful Monday when you hop a ride on a Greyhound bus and sit in the same stained seat for six and a half hours, accompanied by only three other passengers. All of you stare out the window and are occasionally blinded by the setting sun flickering through the silhouette tree branches as you think of that hot magical summer you spent with an ex-lover. That is The Gabe Dixon Band in a nutshell. Their first LP, On a Rolling Ball, was released in 2002 to critic’s approval. Now, Live at World Caf is a six-song EP that records a Philadelphia performance in February. A listener would never guess that the album is live; there are no screaming fans and the quality of the performance is flawless and melodic, something you can drift off to sleep to. To call the music “heartfelt and soulful” would be correct but somehow off the mark. Gabe Dixon, often compared to Ben Folds, is a talented songwriter/ pianist with a voice full of longing that sounds like moody Elton John fronting a jazzy jam band. According to Amazon.com, famous fans include “Paul McCartney to Mindy Smith, Alison Krauss to O.A.R., and Loggins & Messina to Norah Jones.” The band covers Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe,” and two of the piano tracks were co-written by Semisonic’s front man Dan Wilson, also the mix master behind this EP.The lyrics are a hit-ormiss,varying from slightly interesting (“I should probably read a book but I like watching MTV”) to the mundane (“I know its just a songbut I love you/ Things ain’t what they seem to be/ I have tried to conceal but love overwhelms me”). However, Billboard refers to The Gabe Dixon Band as, “real music for real people,” so a listener can always relate to the music and the message, if not have an appreciation for the lyrics. You can listen to MP3s from Live at World Caf at www.gabedixon.com.