Inhaler’s vulnerability shines during acoustic show

By Kaitlyn Wilkes

Photo by Lewis Evans

How do you recover from the fact that not only did you win a radio contest to see arguably your favorite band, but that you sat five-feet away from three out of the four members and watched them play an acoustic set and give a short interview with only 35 other people in the room? I’m open to suggestions.

For five days I had been trying to secure seemingly elusive tickets to an intimate performance at the Austin City Limits Radio Station’s Dell Music Lounge. 

In something that seemed too good to be a coincidence I changed the radio station right as another chance to enter was being announced, the DJ’s voice coming over the airwaves: “Alright, let’s get you and a friend tickets to see Inhaler at our Dell Music Lounge.” 

I guess my particularly rough Mercury retrograde was finally over because about 30 minutes after I entered, I got the text that I had, in fact, won. This meant that I would be seeing the Dublin four piece in an intimate performance setting before their final stint as the openers for Pearl Jam. 

I originally found the rapidly growing alt-rock band in 2019, when the music video for their song “Ice Cream Sundae” appeared on my YouTube homepage. After seeing them for the first time this past March at their first show in Austin — and the opening show for the American leg of their Cuts & Bruises tour — seeing them in a close setting further solidified my decision to dedicate my time to the quartet. 

The ACL Radio Dell Music Lounge has played host to acoustic shows and interviews for artists like Maggie Rogers, Sam Fender and Hozier. Artists play a few songs, broadcasted live over the radio, with an interview from one of the DJ’s interspersed between the performance. 

After filing into a classroom-sized makeshift studio, the crowd spanned genders and age groups, a testament to Inhaler’s timeless sound. 

Everyone was waiting for the band to appear. When the interviewer asked another radio station employee where the band was in a more firm tone, the response was “I’m trying, it’s like herding cats.” 

Once lead singer, Elijah Hewson, guitarist Josh Jenkinson and bassist Robert Keating had been gathered into their respective chairs, they started tuning their instruments. The silent audience waited for the indication that the interview was live. 

“Why is everyone being so quiet? It’s making me nervous.” Keating said, earning a chuckle from the audience.

Once live on the air, the temporary trio opened with “Just To Keep You Satisfied” followed by “If You’re Gonna Break My Heart,” Hewson making a quip about whether or not they’d be able to keep the tempo without their drummer before starting the second tune. 

As singles, these songs often make the lineup when abbreviated sets are played. Hearing these pieces without the full percussion gives them a cozier, more vulnerable feeling. The full creative choices of the band are also demonstrated through the subdued instrumentation, which allows for the backing vocals brought by Keating to shimmer.

It was at that point the brief interview began. During the interview, Jenkinson, Hewson and Keating pulled laughs from the audience, gave insight into their early days as a band and educated the crowd on the Irish language. 

The band members perfectly balanced insight and wit. As a fairly private band, these interviews allowed insight into not only the group's creative process, but ease the fans' desire for a peek into the lives of the Dubliners. 

Closing out their miniature set, before announcing the final song “Valentine,” Hewson confessed that he wasn’t sure why they chose to play this song acoustically, alluding to the fact that it was a difficult choice. 

Although seemingly a difficult instrumental choice, the mix of mystery and want were still portrayed through Hewson’s crooning vocals and Jenkinson’s silky guitar playing. Even though the song contains a fairly simple concept, the body given to the song through its instrumentation gives it a unique complexity. 

Shortly after the end of the song, Inhaler left the room and the guests filed back out of the room they entered only an hour before. 

This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so grateful to have lived through it. If radio dies, experiences like this could be taken away from fans,so support your local radio stations and maybe you’ll win a cool contest and get to see one of your favorite bands with just you and your closest 35 friends.