PHOTOS BY SUSAN HENNESSEY

"Pregnancy," singer/ songwriter Dan Wilson remarked, "is the worst thing that can happen to a band." You see, first time fathers with a penchant for song have a tendency to pen an ode to their spawn -- a baby ballad quick to become a favorite in their catalog. So after teasing with one that began, "I'm so in love with you 'cause you look like me," the now-solo Wilson, playing to a select crowd at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (Nov. 26), broke into his own daddy moment, the once-ubiquitous Semisonic single "Closing Time." Peeling back the song's layers, Wilson lined the performance with spoken interjections, footnoting the subtleties such as the similarities between the song's lyrics "alcohol" or "room" and their soundalikes "umbilical" and "womb."

But besides the birds and the bees, Dan Wilson -- looking dignified in rectangular frames and a cool-but-casual suit -- took a step further, giving a brief seminar on maturation. Flanked by a single small amplifier and a spare Fender Telecaster, Wilson strummed a shiny acoustic to the tune of selections from his new solo disc Free Life. Leading with "Hand on my Heart," Wilson grinned approvingly between his high-def transmission of icicle sharp melodies. Bouncing on tip-toes and gently gyrating his hips like a shy Elvis, Wilson cordially passed through polite Life numbers like the sensual "Sugar" and forlorn "Cry." Celebrating his songwriting collaborations with the Dixie Chicks, Wilson also treated the multiplying crowd to "Easy Silence" from the Chicks' 2006 album Taking the Long Way. Call it sheer magnetism, but by the set's own closing time -- an instructional sing-along version of "All Kinds" -- Wilson had pulled the stranglers from the downstairs bar to join in a most-spirited rendition, leaving him to end with a victorious shout that just about summed it up: "Oh yeah!" 

We asked: Dan Wilson found radio success with his band Semisonic and their hits like "Closing Time," and also won a Grammy for writing the Dixie Chicks song "Not Ready to Make Nice." What current act do you think would hit big with a Wilson penned tune?

Name: Tom Mikluch
Age: 18
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: IT Consultant / Student
"Relient K."

Name: Jia Gnef
Age: 18
Hometown: Louyang, China
Occupation: Student
"OK Go."

Name: Katrina Basilio
Age: 20
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Occupation: Student
"The Harlem Shakes."

Name: Adriana Ramirez
Age: 18
Hometown: Queens, NY
Occupation: Student
"Matt and Kim."

Name: Ben Gettinger
Age: 25
Hometown: Rockaway, NJ
Occupation: Actor
"Either Tyra Banks or the Spice Girls."

Name: Pam Jones
Age: 24
Hometown: Guilford, CT
Occupation: Musician
"John Legend."

Name: Patti Villegas Age: 36
Hometown: Union City, NJ
Occupation: Marketing
"Either Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze or a duet with Aimee Mann.

Name: Nancy Conner
Age: 29
Hometown: Braintree, MA
Occupation: Saleswoman
"Jack Johnson."

Livin' the 'Free Life' / Photo by Susan Hennessey

Wilson is all smiles at the Music Hall of Williamsburg / Photo by Susan Hennessey

He's 'singing in his sleep' / Photo by Susan Hennessey

It's 'Closing Time' / Photo by Susan Hennessey