Inhaler Rocks Portland’s Roseland Theater

Words and photos by Paige Fulkerson

Alternative rock band Inhaler took to Portland’s Roseland Theater on Friday, October 8th, during their North American 2024 tour. The Dublin, Ireland-based band has been touring the U.S. for almost two years now as they transition to their Open Wide World Tour which was announced along with the release of their newest single “Your House” on October 29th. The single was followed by the announcement of their third studio album Open Wide which will be released on February 7th of 2025. The band of four, consisting of Elijah (Eli) Hewson on lead vocals and guitar, Robert (Bobby) Keating on the bass, Ryan McMahon on the drums, and Josh Jenkinson on lead guitar, sports a new logo on the Open Wide album cover of Inhale ®. 

Fans from Oregon and Washington began lining up as early as 11 p.m. the night before the show with more fans joining the line at 6 a.m. the day of. At about 7 a.m. 20 fans were lined up for the Dublin band waiting for the 7 p.m. doors to open to escape the 40-degree Portland weather. 

With the opener of the band Benches, Inhaler attracted a broad all-ages crowd ranging from teens to Generation X, making for an interesting mix on the theater floor. Inhaler opened with their song “These Are The Days” riling up the crowd very early into the show. Although the surprising mix of fans, all were thrilled to see the band perform, the crowd at the barricade and middle of the venue carried the songs, vibrating with every chorus Eli sang. 

Eli Hewson, to no surprise, is a true rockstar, knowing how to work the crowd and play a rock show. He sported a leather jacket before removing it to reveal a white tank top. The band continued to play “When It Breaks” which happened to be a hit within the crowd as they sang just as loud as Hewson himself. As the song finished Hewson said, “Woah we’re ready to go,” to the Portland crowd. Before performing “Totally” (my personal favorite) Hewson stated, “Sing it boys. Common boyfriends!” to the crowd of 75% girls and applauded the boyfriends with “You sound good.” 

Early into the set, the band played their newest single and the crowd was ecstatic. The song features bandmates Robert and Josh’s vocals harmonizing together during the chorus with Eli’s vocals leading. Their newest single is representative of their huge potential as a band and what the newest album will soon feature. The sound of the song is different from their other albums, hitting a more alternative pop sound with a catchy beat; I’d be surprised if this song didn’t become a radio hit single.

“Who’s Your Money On? (Plastic House)” was one of my favorite songs performed during the night simply because of the fans in the first couple rows. As Hewson sang the lyrics, “Who are you gonna put your money on?” fans picked and chose which band member they wanted to put their money on as pointing fingers rose from the crowd. Hundred-dollar bills with the band members’ faces on them were thrown during the song’s first chorus before transitioning to the “Plastic House” segment of the song. 

The band performed fan favorite “Valentine” before “My King Will Be Kind” opening the song with, “This one’s about boys.” Fans screamed the lyrics of, “I fucking hate that bitch,” not surprising the band one bit. Preceding this was the debut of a new song from their upcoming album called “Little Things.”

During “Dublin In Ecstacy” Eli got down into the crowd to perform the song with a fan named Sophie on the barricade. Sophie sang the chorus the best that she could as Eli played the guitar leaning into the crowd. I appreciated this classic rock and roll interaction Hewson had with his fans. I fear that live music is becoming increasingly performative and theatrical when it can simply be a band breaking the barrier between their music and their fans. 

“Love Will Get You There” was played before Hewson opened the song “If You’re Gonna Break My Heart” with “common then, break out hearts.” Eli and Bobby carried this song together and harmonized throughout the chorus. Josh and Bobby’s vocals are much more prominent during the live performances and fans seemed to love Bobby taking the lead during some songs. Following was “Cheer Up Baby” and “It Won’t Always Be Like This” before they left for the encore. 

I made my way up to the barricade to see the band perform their last two songs, “Just To Keep You Satisfied” and “My Honest Face.” The barricade was shuddering with excitement from the crowd as the bills from “Who’s Your Money On?” lay on the ground between the stage and the barricade. The band concluded the show by throwing out all their guitar picks as fans struggled for the setlists. 

As fans exited the venue, they made their way to the loading dock in hopes of meeting the band. Although fall in Oregon, about 25 fans waited hours before Ryan and Josh came out around 1 a.m. graciously meeting every fan that wasn’t scared off by the cold. The two members parted and the crowd dwindled to about 10 as they waited for Bobby and Eli to come out, unbeknownst to me if they ever did. 

Inhaler puts on a thrilling rock show and I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them twice over consecutive years and watch as, not only their music, but their fanbase has grown significantly. As of the time of this writing on the evening of November 8th, fans were already lining up for the band’s next show at Seattle’s Showbox SoDo on Saturday, November 9th.