I went to see Loggins & Messina at the Greek.

I wasn’t going to write about it, fearful of being abused, for not only liking old music, but really lame old music.  But although Kenny Loggins sang that wimpy song about the bear, the band positively rocked.  They played completely different material from their last tour, four years before, and the show was anything but jaundiced, that was the performance the following night, CSN in a dash for cash were playing for a crowd that would have been better off listening to the records, Stills could play the guitar but couldn’t come close to singing the right notes and there just wasn’t the power of the original recordings, it was a facsimile, nostalgia, positively creepy, making those in the audience feel so old as to be close to the grave, completely spent and irrelevant.

But the opening act Friday night, he took the stage with just a percussionist and got a standing ovation.

Get this, the guy’s a good twenty plus years younger than anybody there.  Supposedly baby boomers don’t want to hear anything new.  But when confronted with someone special, they’ll give it up.  Because they remember when it was about the music, just about the music.

I’ll admit I’m a Gabe Dixon fan.  But we were having such a good time bullshitting in Rena’s office, that I was debating finding my seat as we discussed who we used to be.  But when the sound was turned up on the big screen in her office, I got that rush, there was something definitely there, I told Rena we’d see her during intermission.

Do you know what it takes to win over an audience?

You can set yourself on fire, take off your clothes, employ dancers, but still the audience won’t pay attention, they’re there to see the headliner. The days of the Fillmore are done, when you were interested in the opening acts.  Hell, many people don’t even bother to arrive until the main attraction hits the stage, and those in attendance usually catch up with friends, the din during the opener is almost deafening.

But not Friday night.

It’s not like Gabe Dixon told hilarious stories, or looks like he belongs on the new "Melrose Place", he just played songs, with changes, with meaning, and the audience reacted.

Used to be you were waiting for that one hit single.  Which you wrote desperately to uncover.

Or you put on a glitzy outfit to appear in a video.

You were looking for a short cut.

Now there are no short cuts.  You’ve got to win them over live.  And it’s such a slow process.  Because you’re not converting the whole country at once, but maybe a few thousand at a time, if you’re lucky.

Gabe only played one song I knew.  Hell, I didn’t even know he had a 2008 album on Fantasy.  But the changes enraptured me, the lyrics took me away, to my inside life.  That’s what great singer-songwriter music does, strip away the bullshit of life, letting you ponder your dreams, your desires, your choices.

This man was excellent.  Stunningly so.  Because of his talent.

How do I describe him?  A less sunny Carole King?  A more mellifluous Ben Folds?  A less-husky voiced Michael McDonald?  When these artists hit it, you become soft in the gut, you feel fully human, Gabe Dixon got you to the same place.

But it’s almost impossible to sell this music today.  So Gabe Dixon is playing keyboards in Loggins & Messina to put food on the table, but continues to try and make it.

This music isn’t for everybody.  None is.  But if you’re someone who cleans the house and reflects on your life, if you’re someone who remembers driving down the Interstate more than the night at the club in your finery, this is the music for you.

Don’t tell me it’s wimpy.  We’re all wimpy.  Those edgy cats of the past are either dead, or living next to you in the suburbs.

If you catch this guy live, you’ll be stunned.  Because he’s got it.  And almost nobody does.  And when you see it, your heart skips a beat, your body starts to move, you get a smile on your face, you feel fucking great to be alive.

Play "Five More Hours".

If you like that, try "Ever After You", "Disappear", "Find My Way" and "All Will Be Well".