Images: Touché Amoré, Seahaven, Caravels, Alaska December 14, 2011 at Hypnotic Lounge

Touché Amoré’s December 14^th headlining show at the Hypnotic Lounge was one of the last before the closing of the music venue’s current location, but at least it went out swinging.

Like Hypnotic’s Bane/Defeater show earlier this year, the close proximity of the stage to the bar meant that the mass of kids yearning to scream along with Touché frontman Jeremy Bolm had to pile upon each other to make it even remotely possible. No one seemed to mind, though, and that energy crafted one of the best shows I’ve seen all year. This was Touché’s second show in Vegas this year (the first was held in the summer at Yayo) and it’s great to see how much their fan base has grown since then. The band received the biggest reaction during the song “Tilde” from 2011’s Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me, with kids leaping off the bar and almost knocking over the PA to scream “if actions speak louder than words I’m the most deafening noise you’ve heard.”  While this is the year Touché’s popularity really exploded, the older songs from 2009’s …To the Beat of a Dead Horse received just as strong of a reaction as the new material, particularly the incredibly intense “Cadence.” This was the band’s last night of a long winter tour but if they didn’t announce it, you wouldn’t know. The group was completely on point and energized the entire night.

Touché brought along fellow LA natives Seahaven to open up the show. The lone non-hardcore band may have seemed like an odd choice from an outsider’s perspective, but their unique style fit in perfectly and the catchiness of the songs from their recently released and critically acclaimed album Winter Forever quickly won over those who stayed up front to watch their set. There’s a certain amount of Balance and Composure/modern Brand New mixed into the band’s generally poppy sound, but I was most excited to hear my favorite Winter Forever track “Understanding,” a song that has almost a later day Replacements/Paul Westerberg -esque riff and great harmonies.

Caravels and Alaska were the two locals on the bill and they were excellent choices for the spot, as their styles of experimental and emotional hardcore went over really well with Touché fans.  For Caravels, this marked their first hometown show since leaving for tour in October and as such, they had a lot of fans come out to scream along with every word and revel in the hometown heroes. Alaska is still in the process of establishing itself as a band, but they already show immense talent on stage, and it’s likely that they won over many new fans in the process.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/

and Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens