Guitarist Amir Yaghmai (left) and Julian Casablancas (center). (Ryan Corbett/ CU Independent)
The Voidz, led by the legendary garage-rock frontman Julian Casablancas, performed to a packed Gothic Theatre in Denver on Thursday, September 20. The show weaved through the poppy tunes the band has recently developed a knack for, plus the experimental noise-rock that has been the main focus of the group since its inception.
The Voidz set began with the track “Where We Were,” which set the tone for how the rest of the show would be: a loud, distorted and captivating display of what the band has to offer. The distorted guitars and dirty synthesizers blended into each other to create one large cacophony of sound. Casablancas’ swanky voice cut through the instrumentals perfectly, leading the group through the experimental rock’s improvisational unknown.
Casablancas’ stage presence is unlike many current frontmen in rock music today. Ever since his early days with The Strokes he has stayed glued to the mic stand, rarely straying from the center of the stage. Still ,at 40 years old, he carries the same swagger that made him a household name. His voice is is the same old deep, raspy, relaxed and ever so cool voice it has always been.
It’s difficult to separate Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas from the band and the music that made him so popular in the early 2000s. Casablancas joined with The Voidz in 2013 after years of working on a solo project apart from The Strokes. Ever since, Casablancas has performed and written music with both groups, primarily The Voidz, formerly known as Julian Casablancas and The Voidz.
The Voidz work well together to explore the depths of where rock music can go. Their songs are dense and can be confusing to unpack with their strange time signatures, gnarled guitar licks and lyrics speaking to politics and social criticism. Yet at the core of each song, Casablancas is exploring everything that The Strokes is not and getting a break from the three-minute pop rock song.
Making the connection between Casablancas’ past work with The Strokes and the noisy experimental rock of The Voidz is certainly not easy. However, some of Casablancas’ cheery, feel-good garage rock roots still bleed through on songs like “Leave It In My Dreams” and “Wink.”
The band’s latest album Virtue was where most of the songs in their short 12-song set came from. They performed songs like “QYRRYUS” and “Pyramid of Bones” before ending with the memorable Strokes-esque tune “Wink.” The band returned for a three-song encore of “Dare I Care,” “Permanent High School” and “Where No Eagles Fly” to close out the night.
Contact CU Independent writer Ryan Corbett at Ryan.Corbett@Colorado.edu.
