1. The summer sun still brightly burned Thursday evening when Touché Amoré took the stage at 7:30 p.m. for its all-ages performance. The Hard Rock Live’s fully-windowed, western-facing wall, usually reflecting the neon glow from the Strip, instead baked our backs—a small price to pay to savor the fast-rising SoCal act.

2. Touché is more melodic than most hardcore outfits, even compared with affiliates from friend-band collective “The Wave.” Employing dual, bright guitars in standard tuning played through clean tube amps, Touché allows a driving bass to carry the heavy portions over complex but precise drums. The sound is unique to their genre and very refreshing.

3. Lead singer Jeremy Bolm’s road-worn voice was hoarse from consecutive nights of constant screaming, which wasn’t entirely expected. Considering his fanatical disciples wail along to every word nearly as loudly as he does, maybe Bolm should let them take over for a night and give his vocal cords some much-deserved rest. Then again, his captivating yell might be the band’s strongest asset.

4. Thursday marked the group’s first time headlining a show on the Strip, but Touché is no stranger to Las Vegas. The visiting heavyweights offered shout-outs to their friends in Caravels—with whom they toured with earlier this year—and reminisced about previous performances at Yayo Taco.

5. All-ages shows have their benefits. After Touché’s 45-minute genre-rejuvenating sprint, which had us out the door by 8:15, I able to catch another concert later—and fit in dinner and drinks before heading home. –Chris Bitonti