Inhaler - O2 Academy Glasgow 17.02.2025
On a cold Tuesday night in Glasgow, I made my way to the southside to see the second night of all three bands playing the O2.
Fans definitely got their moneys worth from this show with not one, but two support acts.
Personally, I was there to see a new band, Permanent (Joy) who were first up for the night and who played to an enthusiastic, if at that point not yet full, crowd. The reception they got from those present would suggest that they won over a few new fans amongst those who had bought tickets to see Inhaler and their interaction with the crowd after their set reinforced the feeling of a band winning people over. Their set, while very early for most gigs, went down very well. There was even spontaneous dancing next to me. They are still developing their repertoire but if they have more songs like 'Joesphine' and 'Aeroplane' up their sleeves it won’t take very long for them to move up the bill and some day be back headlining this venue. Permanent (Joy) are a new band but they came across as very confident, very talented and with a front man, Alex Davison who is clearly a natural!
I thoroughly enjoyed their set, was grateful for the opportunity to see them and can’t wait until I see what they do next. 'I Wanna Go Home' is surely a song that will break them big. Keep an eye out, they will be playing venues near you soon I’m certain, it’s well worth seeing them.
Next up were Gurriers, a band I don’t know well so I approached their set with an open mind, they were good and had a bit of crowd interaction, but I wasn’t blown away by them, I think Permanent (Joy) edged the battle of the support bands. Gurriers, for me, didn’t offer anything I hadn’t heard before and felt quite derivative but I maybe caught them on and off night so I will go see them again as I had heard good things about them. The best bit of their set was their entrance music which had the half full crowd, at that time, singing along before they even got going.
The main event, Inhaler, came on stage just before 9, two of the band were suffering from the Flu but you would have never known it, if this is them not at their best, I can’t wait to see them again when they are fully fighting fit. They emerged to a rapturous welcome from the crowd but if I have one gripe, it’s that it took many of this mostly quite young crowd, until about the fifth song to stop watching the gig through their phones and start fully engaging. When they did the atmosphere improved tremendously, the sing along got into full swing, the mass bouncing began, everything got louder, it was tremendous.
Maybe it’s a generational thing, I might film the occasional bit of a song or take a photo but for those first four songs some of the crowd didn’t look at the stage directly, it was all through their phones.
Inhaler, themselves, were tremendous, a proper rock and roll band, with stage presence in abundance and the songs to back it up. New album, 'Open Wide', is a masterpiece, channelling a variety of influences and the band did the new songs, and their back catalogue, full credit.
They opened with 'My Honest Face' and followed that with 'Eddie in the Darkness', playing 11 more songs in the initial set.
The encore of 'Open Wide' and 'Your House' blew the crowd away, this is a band with a devoted following who clearly have a special bond with their fans, The atmosphere as the night progressed got better and better.
Are Inhaler poised to breakthrough to the big time?
Absolutely!
This tour may be your last chance to see them in venues this size, if you can get tickets don’t hesitate. They own the stage, and they know how to work the crowd, it was a tremendous gig that will live long in my memory.
I left the venue with a smile on my face and a determination to see Inhaler again, as I said earlier, if this is them performing while under the weather then other bands don’t stand a chance!
Permanent (Joy)
Review - Iain McClay
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