“Can I get one ticket to The Strokes? Sorry, I mean The Voidz!” I overheard from a middle aged man at The Observatory’s will call window. What surprised me about his tone was his... sincerity. This was not one of your run-of-the-mill distasteful jokes made about The Strokes v. The Voidz that divide their fan base. This fleeting moment is reflective of the biggest challenge The Voidz face as having Julian Casablancas as their lead singer. Many of The Strokes’ listeners are unable to accept The Voidz as anything more than a side project -- but not because they don’t want to. They’re simply too attached to nostalgia.

And that’s a shame. The Voidz’s sophomore release Virtue, which celebrated its one year anniversary this March, is one of the best and most inventive records of 2018. According to the band’s keyboardist, Jeff Kite, the band is currently in the studio prepping to release what is to be “their most commercial” album yet. The Voidz’s mission statement is to bridge the gap between underground quality music and the mainstream -- a manifesto that not only exists in their music, but in how they arrange their tourmates.

Their past openers have included rising artists (and a comic) with fearless and unique styles (Starcrawler, Lee Camp, and Promiseland to name a few). For this Cinco de Mayo show, True Blue is no exception. True Blue is the solo endeavor of Maya Laner, bassist for Porches, who toured with The Voidz last year. A one woman band, she approaches the keyboard wearing opera length latex gloves and a graffiti print style dress. After the first song, she asks, “Can I get help with the lighting? It feels like a classroom in here.”