Recap: Rodrigo Y Gabriela and Alex Skolnick Trio at 9:30 Club

The genre of “world music” is a bit of a misnomer. By grouping all music from countries outside of the G8 into a single catchall, we tend to blur the lines between countless subgenres, often understating the vast influences and unique styles of “world” musicians. There is perhaps no better poster child for the genre’s complexity than Mexico City-by-way-of-Dublin guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela, which kicked off its North American tour last night with the first of two sold-out shows at 9:30 Club. The duo's performance was less a rock show than a study in acoustic ingenuity, transforming a pair of amplified nylon string guitars into many of the sounds of a proper band: the thuds and claps of a full drum kit, the clicks and subtle accents of an auxiliary percussionist, even the scorching riffs of a thrash metal shredder.

The show opened with a set from the Alex Skolnick Trio, fronted by the lightning-fast axe man of the metal band Testament (and gray-streaked doppelganger of Rogue from the X-Men), Alex Skolnick. The trio was a lovely complement to Rodrigo Y Gabriela, jamming through instrumental jazz-fusion renditions of metal classics, including Kiss’ “Detroit Rock City,” Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” and Judas Priest’s “Electric Eye.” Similar to the headliners, Skolnick and his crew managed to span genres without coming off as gimmicky, weaving familiar rock hooks around disjointed samba rhythms and experimental bebop lines.

From the opening lines of “Hanuman”—the first track off Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s 2009 release, 11:11—lead guitarist Rodrigo Sanchez’s dexterous finger-picking was on full display. Though a night with Sanchez alone would have surely been enough to please the crowd, the accompanying talents of rhythm guitarist Gabriela Quintero were nothing short of mesmerizing. Quintero stretches her instrument to unimaginable lengths, tapping relentlessly across the body of her guitar while maintaining a steady stream of supporting riffs. During an impromptu mini-clinic in the middle of the set, Quintero shared the secret of her technique with the audience: she strikes the body in triplets with a precise finger sequence, derived from years of jamming on the bodhrán in the streets of Dublin. “This one, it has to be played very fuckin’ fast,” she explained. “You have to just practice like crazy for hours, and then maybe next week you’ll have it.”

Doubtful.

Early in the set, Sanchez explained that they would play “pretty much the whole album” of 11:11, a clever medley of eleven original recordings inspired by eleven artists that have contributed to Rodrigo Y Gabriela’s distinct sound. The set list was telling of the duo’s eclectic musical influences: “Santo Domingo” is a tribute to Dominican jazz pianist Michel Camilo, “Buster Voodoo” flashes shades of Jimi Hendrix, “Atman” is a nod to Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell. The night also included a couple of choice covers, including an almost unrecognizable rendition of “Stairway To Heaven” off the duo's 2006 self-titled breakthrough album. (The song’s iconic riff was so well-veiled in classical guitar twangs that a particularly unperceptive audience member unironically called out for “Stairway” later in the set.)

There was remarkable intimacy between the performers and the crowd throughout the night. Sanchez established the colloquial mood early by genuinely asking, “By the way, who won the hockey?” (Greeted, of course, with a roar of playful boos and “Fuck Canada” quips). You could feel the cockles of the crowd’s collective heart warm every time Gabriela spoke, gleefully cursing her way through anecdotes in an adorable Spanglish-soaked Irish brogue (“It’s fookin’ freezing out there” and “It’ll be like fookin’ Spinal Tap” stand out as personal favorites.) And, as if to clarify a common miscategorization of the band’s style, she later made a point to share that they are, in fact, not flamenco players. “We love flamenco…but they are really fuckin’ strict,” she slurred. “They have a completely different technique…It’s almost ritualistic—almost religious for flamenco people.”

Silly us, thinking we could classify Rodrigo Y Gabriela under any single genre. I guess we’ll just have to stick with the “world music” tag for the time being.

http://www.avclub.com/dc/articles/rodrigo-y-gabriela-and-alex-skolnick-trio-at-930-c,38666/