Inhaler Live At Royal Albert Hall, Review: A Pure Halloween Rock Treat

Inhaler, live at The Royal Albert Hall. Image credit: Charlotte Corcoran

‘I don’t think we ever believed that we’d play our music in this building.’

The journey to the Royal Albert Hall was not an easy one. And I’m not talking about for Friday night headliners, Inhaler. Cancelled trains, broken tube station escalators, and torrential rain impeded our route, but we got there.

We may have turned up looking like drowned rats, but we got there. We certainly weren’t the most gruesome-looking in attendance, though.

The Groove were lucky enough to spend our Friday 31st in the sold-out venue – with a 50:50 split of the audience deployed in Halloween fancy dress.

Unfortunately too delayed to catch first support, Scustin, we arrived to a collective of space men in shiny silver suits on stage – or second openers, Guest List. ‘We don’t usually dress like this’, the five piece made sure to inform the crowd. Lighters went up for ‘161’, featuring a guitar riff so good even security glanced over, and the band did a great job of warming up the crowd with final track, ‘Weatherman’.

Soon after, the soaring riff of Oasis’ ‘Morning Glory’ ripped through the speakers to rile up the crowd of witches, zombies and blood-stained nurses. Inhaler appeared and launched into high-intensity ‘Open Wide’, diving straight after into the ferocious ‘Dublin In Ecstasy’, featuring an unintelligible mic dip into the crowd – the first and last of the night.

Josh Jenkinson in Halloween fancy dress, live at the Royal Albert Hall. Image credit: Charlotte Corcoran

The band lent into the theme, with all but frontman Elijah Hewson performing for the duration in highwayman masks. The two cloaked figures of bassist Robert Keating and guitarist Josh Jenkinson flanking Hewson in his Adam Ant ruffle white silk shirt made for an effective aesthetic, on a stage sparsely decorated with draped sheets and tavern candles. Their melodic rock sound worked perfectly for the cavernous dome ceiling – an echoing assault of electric guitars, hard-hitting drums and chanting choruses. 

“Elijah Hewson filled the room with a powerful live vocal that soared effortlessly through the venue, at times incredibly – the kind of talent that simply can’t be ‘handed down’.”

It’s hard to believe the relentless set from the Irish rock band was filled entirely with originals, far from reduced to 2025 album ‘Open Wide’. Now in their mid-twenties, Inhaler have ditched the scruff and angst of a young band, but not the energy or appreciation for the songs that got them here.

Equally enthusiastic reception to ‘My King Will Be Kind’ and ‘Whose Your Money On?’ is testament to their ability to expand on what was already a strong foundation, with a setlist that frequently dipped into 2021 debut album ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ – written by the then-20-year-olds.

Eli Hewson, frontman of Inhaler. Image credit: Charlotte Corcoran

Elijah Hewson filled the room with a powerful live vocal that soared effortlessly through the venue, at times incredibly – the kind of talent that simply can’t be ‘handed down’. But this performance was a tight ship run by all four members, with credit owed to Ryan McMahon – who seemed not to notice how fast his hands were moving, driving track after track with fast-tempo, thundering drums.

There were noticeably fewer phones waving around, in an audience made up of a diverse demographic. The energy started strong and hardly dipped, the floor beneath us bouncing. The crowd were loud, especially during anthemic ‘Love Will Get You There’ and ‘Billy’. Conga lines popped up, pairs and trios danced on all floors, and the standing section became one mass movement of joy.

Meanwhile, the band took the evening in their stride, neither overwhelmed nor out of place in a venue as potentially daunting as the Royal Albert Hall. Perhaps too much, though, as it felt some acknowledgement of the night was missing, with only a few spoken words squeezed between instrumental intros.

It’s clear to see that Inhaler are comfortable in venues this size. Indeed, the ~6,000 capacity London hall is far from their recent largest show to date. Hewson and co. dutifully thanked their touring crew and staff, but I wish the band had paused – properly – for a moment, to take stock, talk about the night, introduce a song, or spot the best outfits, of which there were plenty to choose from. This subtle omission did nothing to detract from the quality of their performance, but maintained an invisible barrier between the artist and their audience – detracting from some of the intimacy and connection we often seek from a live show.

Inhaler bassist, Robert Keating, in highwayman mask. Image credit: Charlotte Corcoran

Inhaler’s’ Royal Albert Hall debut was a polished delivery of Halloween entertainment, with glimmers of true stardom. But with a setlist so strong, and a band so talented, I hope that Inhaler move forward feeling confident enough to ditch one song, and swap it for a conversation – however much it’s possible to hold one – with a room full of people delighted to see them, wanting to be seen in return.

“Inhaler proved on Friday night that they’ve always had the potential to be as good as critics feared they could be.”

Inhaler began their encore with eerie, compelling new single ‘Hole In The Ground’, before closing the show with euphoric 2019 breakout hits ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’ and ‘My Honest Face’. Both written by the band as teenagers, now the crescendoing finale of a concert-length set, Inhaler proved on Friday night that they’ve always had the potential to be as good as critics feared they could be.