festnoise | Music & Festivals

Mar 9

Mar 9 Inhaler @ Columbia Theater in Berlin

Hundreds of articles have been written in recent months about Inhaler. They are undoubtedly one of the bands that you should follow very closely in 2020. Although it is not only because of their talent (which they sure have), their catchy melodies (which they have too) or their stage skills (which certainly are many), but also because singer and guitarist Elijah Hewson is son to Paul Hewson, better known as Bono the famous frontman of U2. Elijah and other Inhaler members Josh Jenkinson (guitar), Rob Keating (bass) and Ryan McMahon (drums) which all met at St Andrews school in Blackrock (Dublin) were stopping in Berlin for the penultimate show of their European tour before the American one.

I really wanted to see them so last Thursday I went to Columbia Theater, the small sister room of Columbiahalle that it turns out to be a pleasant venue with very good acoustics and an exterior design reminiscent of the Einstein Tower of Potsdam, reference of German expressionism by Erich Mendelsohn. And some facts that no one asked for, these two venues located opposite to the old Tempelhof airport, are former US leisure facilities. The history of the venues goes back to 1951, when the Columbiahalle opened as a sports hall for American soldiers posted in Berlin and Columbia Theater, directly next-door was a 400-seat cinema, also for the American soldiers.

Back to the show, it was a short one without an encore, but although they do not have an extensive repertoire people had time to get excited singing songs like “We Have To Move On” or “My Honest Face”. Inhaler may be newcomers, but the truth is that I was impressed by the good live sound. If I had closed my eyes, and I had stopped seeing the still young faces of these teenagers, I would certainly have thought that I was facing a consolidated group with several albums on the market. Inhaler not only sounds totally pasted, but they move on stage with a body language that is surprising for their age. It's no wonder that these guys are gonna have all doors from the music industry open for them but they seem to be very aware of the fact that if they are not good, all those doors will close really quick.

Their ambition and desire to grow is impressive, although probably it's the rush to shake off those U2 comparisons. Like I said, we will have to follow them very closely.