Inhaler

Manchester Academy //Saturday 15th October 2022

“It won’t always be like this” – a Moshmag review by Stanley D Kippax // Photography by David Dillon

There’s something about Saturday nights in town. Friday’s are great don’t get me wrong, but they always have an air of improvisation about them. Fellas in suits straight from work, couples who were supposed to be “just having a quiet one”. But Saturday, Saturday’s the night of preparation. So often it’s the anticipation that makes an evening.

Manchester Academy was packed to the rafters with Saturday Night-outers to see Inhaler. Comfy t-shirts and jeans replaced with…well smarter t-shirts and jeans but it smelt better. An experience akin to watching a band in a particularly badly lit Duty Free. And what a way to start the night! This was the start of the evening, a moment in a night out that was wonderful in it’s own right but with near universal understanding that there was so much more to come.

Inhaler probably won’t play the Academy again for a while. The Academy is easily the best venue in town but it’s strength is also its weakness and Inhaler look primed to begin their steady decline to arena’s. The production was already there, like someone had shunted the arena down Oxford Road. But then again the amount Inhaler work it shouldn’t come as any surprise. Pick a location, Inhaler have probably played there at some point this year, which means picking future opponents in Inhaler Gig Top Trumps might be tricky. “Yeah I saw Inhaler at the Academy once” “Yeah? Well I saw them at the Ritz!” “Thats nothing, I saw them at Sziget Festival”. Choose carefully friends!

The band came out on stage to the sound of a noise from Josh Jenkinson guitar best described as guttural. That low frequency humming indicating that bouncing is afoot proceedings kicked off with single These Are The Days. “Its good to be back” Elijah Hewson told the crowd, they were only here in July (opening the AO Arena for Kings of Leon) but I suppose they have been round the world since.

The band flew through their set never missing a beat, tight and well versed, and time seemed to move on quicker than a Tory Prime Minister. Speaking of which, our Elijah isn’t much of a talker (why bother when you can sing I suppose) however he did allow himself a “der der der” in response to the crowds “fuck the Tories” before My King Will Be Kind. A moment I’m pleased to see made setlist on a few websites.

It Wont Always Be Like This and Cheer Up Baby closed the set before the band returned with a live debut for If You’re Going To Break My Heart and My Honest Face. It wasn’t a particularly long set, but it was certainly memorable. It won’t always be like this for inhaler, festival headline slots and stadiums await. They might have even earnt themselves an “in” at Anfield, rumour has it Inhaler are popular in the Liverpool dressing room. High praise indeed.

So that’s the review, and with that we’ve made it through the entire thing avoiding lazy writing and not mentioning a certain other Irish band once. The magazine are proud of me, I’m proud of myself and I hope, dear reader, that so are U2.

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