Sirens and flashing white lights have intruded on Devilcar’s set—a false-positive fire alarm complete with an occasional recorded voice conveying evacuation instructions. This being the first night of a live-music promotion in a space that rarely hosts live music, those running the Harmon Theater’s lounge appear unsure how to disengage the alert, so it goes on for another 20 minutes before finally shutting off.

No matter. Devilcar, a newish quartet with a rather storied Vegas makeup (frontman J. Hutchings, for example, once played bass in late-’90s funk-rock outfit The Watson Family), simply carries on, performing its final two numbers accompanied by sirens, flashing white lights and, yes, an occasional recorded voice conveying evacuation instructions. “I need to get a sample of that, so I can bring it to every show … have a siren going off while we play,” Hutchings deadpans between songs.

Fire alarm and modestly sized crowd—I count 50-odd bodies over the course of the night, which also sees Portland art-punk duo Jaguar Love and St. Louis garage-rockers Living Things perform—notwithstanding, the just-launched Amped night has clear potential. The 400-capacity lounge located behind Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile shops near the corner of Harmon and the Strip feels meant to host live bands, its non-corporate vibe and red-velvet curtains and couches reminiscent of underground clubs in the hippest of music cities. “This is like New York, Chicago, London, Paris,” Hutchings says. “This is a badass club. I can imagine a scene forming here.”

Even more significantly, the Harmon Theater’s 1,300-capacity main room—better known as gay-themed nightclub Krave—has also been offered up for live acts Sunday through Thursday, which has Vegas-based promoter Brandy Provenzano, the woman behind Amped, dreaming big. “I’m still booking at Wasted Space and Beauty Bar,” she says. “But I’m gonna start focusing my stuff here. It reminds me of the Troubadour and the Roxy [in LA]. This could be one of those rooms bands would seek out to play.”

The Harmon lounge has hosted live music before, most notably bygone nights Sound Clinic (alternative) and Sanctuary (goth/industrial), and DJ night sKizoFrenia remains ongoing in the space. But if Provenzano can begin booking well-known out-of-town acts in the large room—a room that currently hosts comedian/magician The Amazing Johnathan most weeknights—it will mark a new chapter for a space that has been home to little live music since its early 2000s startup as the short-lived Blue Note jazz club.

“I’m really excited about this room,” Provenzano whispers as we sneak a peek while a small crowd watches Johnathan’s act. The room looks a lot like it did during its Blue Note days: good-sized stage, long bar across the back and two audience levels—an open floor and a booth-ringed second tier. Parking could be a bit of an issue (valet shuts down at 11 p.m. during the week), but I’m assured the garage below is usually available, and there’s always the main Planet Hollywood parking structure for those willing to hoof the Miracle Mile.

“As much as I get that people like the novelty of Downtown, Vegas is the Strip,” says Phantom Entertainment’s Pedi Amiri, the man once responsible for Sound Clinic, who is teaming up with Provenzano on the Theater’s latest live venture. “Tonight was a soft opening; we only had a few days to promote it. Next time, we’ll have more lead time to market it, and it’ll be a lot bigger.”