Hours before Roadrunner’s doors were set to open on Saturday, fans were already lined up along Guest Street to see Irish rock band Inhaler.
Inhaler’s lead vocalist and guitarist Elijah Hewson is the son of U2 frontman Paul Hewson, better known as Bono, but I’m hesitant to call him a nepotism baby. As someone who found the band through an Apple Music recommendation, I didn’t know that Hewson was Bono’s son until two days before the show when a friend of a friend told me.
While the band — consisting of guitarist Josh Jenkinson, bassist Robert Keating and drummer Ryan McMahon — may have benefited from Bono’s music industry connections, Inhaler’s catchy beats and relatable lyrics have earned them my, and many others’, support.
When Inhaler announced its North American tour in May, I was thrilled, because I wasn’t able to see them the last time they played in Boston at House of Blues in March 2023. Roadrunner’s 3,500-person capacity is an upgrade from House of Blues, which holds up to 2,200 people.
When the doors opened at 7 p.m., fans immediately rushed in to get a coveted spot against the barricade. Exactly an hour later, the opening band, benches, took the stage.
I had never listened to benches before, so I had no idea what to expect. The band played an energetic mix of released and unreleased songs, the latter of which I’m excited to listen to again once they come out.
Benches, which credits The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys as its biggest influences, was the perfect opener to get the crowd hyped for Inhaler.
Then, the waiting game began.
At 9 p.m., it was clear that fans were antsy. The pre-show music cut out at one point, and fans collectively awwed when the music resumed and Inhaler did not appear.
At 9:07 p.m., the house lights turned off, intro music started playing and the crowd immediately burst into cheers.
After what felt like an eternity but really was a few minutes, Inhaler took the stage and began performing “These Are The Days.” The band instantly had the crowd jumping and shouting the lyrics back at them.
A few songs later, they played “Totally,” the song I was looking forward to hearing the most.
“Totally” has been on my playlist titled “songs that scratch the itch in my brain” since 2022 because of its catchy bass and Hewson’s buttery voice. The live performance exceeded my expectations.
The band recently teased its upcoming third album, so I expected to hear unreleased songs.
Despite knowing this, I still screamed in surprise and excitement when Hewson introduced “Your House,” and the band began playing the unreleased song. The song was fun and full of energy and will definitely be added to my playlists once it is released.
For “Dublin in Ecstasy,” Hewson stepped off the stage and into the crowd. He was rewarded with the loudest cheers of the night. When he returned to the stage, Hewson was sporting an American flag cowboy hat a fan gifted him.
The band ended the main set with their most popular songs, including “Cheer Up Baby” and “It Won’t Always Be Like This.” Both songs had me, and everyone around me, jumping, thrashing and singing along.
Despite the band thanking the crowd and exiting the stage, their final songs only left the crowd wanting more. Fans around me cheered, and some even barked, at the empty stage until Inhaler returned for a two-song encore of “Just To Keep You Satisfied” and “My Honest Face” before they left the stage for the final time that night.
As I left my first Inhaler concert, I was more than satisfied — and I will definitely be going to see them again.
