Inhaler "Cuts & Bruises" Tour at Emo's (Austin) & The Hi-Fi (Dallas)

March 6th & March 8th, 2023

If you didn't already think I was crazy, you're about to really believe I am!

Inhaler are one of my favorite bands of all time. I have been following them for almost a year now, (under the influence of my Bono-loving mother), and I have been waiting for ages for them to tour Texas. I was sitting in the passenger seat of my sister's Honda when these tour dates were announced. We were in a Starbucks drive-thru and my phone had just been resurrected by a magical AT&T employee after being shut off for nearly a day, and these tour dates were the first thing I saw when I opened the Instagram app. I screamed in the car, I shook my sister's arm, I shoved my phone in her face. I knew from the minute I saw the post that I'd be there, and I knew I was into it enough to commit to at least two shows, especially with the three Texas dates all lined up for me.

At first, I bought one ticket to the Dallas show and one ticket to the Austin show. I knew my mom would want to go to the Dallas show but she wouldn't want a general admission floor ticket (because we are not at all the same in that regard) and I knew my little sister would want to go to the Austin show but she wouldn't want to buy her ticket when I bought mine. So at first, it was just two.

As it got closer, my mom did purchase her reserved balcony ticket and I bought my sister a ticket to accompany me to the Austin show as part of her Christmas gift. I anticipated being mostly on my own for the Dallas show, which I ultimately decided would be fine by me because I set my mind to having a good time no matter who I was with.

The Austin show was on March 6th, 2023. I drove down to San Marcos with my sister the day before, and we planned to get to the venue sometime between noon and 1 p.m. To our surprise, the line was already about 35 people long when we arrived. I anticipated some newer Inhaler fans to be in the crowds at these shows, but I did not expect people to be camping out for their concerts this time around. We had a pretty calm and pleasant time in line (despite getting a little sunburnt), and we wound up being in about the third row on Bobby's side of the crowd, which is exactly where I wanted to be. The opener who was scheduled to tour with them for this portion of the tour had to drop at the last minute, so their team recruited local Texas bands to open for each of their earlier tour dates, which was something I really enjoyed. (I did not care much for the opening band in Austin, but the band selected for the Dallas date was incredible!).

The actual show was everything I ever hoped it would be. I dressed comfortably and I was glad I did because I was soaking wet with sweat and someone else's beer by the end of the show. Their set is about an hour and fifteen minutes long, including the encore songs, and it felt like the shortest show I have ever been to in my life because I was enjoying myself so much. I honestly do not have many pictures or videos from the first concert itself because I knew I was about to see them again, but I did take a few pretty good ones of parts of my favorite songs. The energy in the crowd was super high up at the front and I had so much fun going with my sister, who I have now turned into a huge Inhaler fan as well. The setlist was the perfect mix of older and newer songs, which was something I was very grateful for as someone who did not get the chance to see them on their first U.S. tour (because they did not tour Texas). The performance was incredible, they are all so talented, and I could not wait for my next show.

We hung around after in hopes of meeting the band. Austin was the first show in the U.S. leg of this tour, so the boys were still pretty jet-lagged, but 3/4 of them did come out and meet a few fans and take a few photos after the show. They came out pretty late and were evidently very tired, but my sister and I were lucky enough to be in the small group of fans that Josh talked to for a minute or two after the concert. He was super sweet and had a very casual conversation with us before he went to get on the tour bus for the night. Ryan and Eli also thanked everyone for coming and got on the tour bus pretty quickly, but the fans were very respectful of their space and the crowd dispersed almost immediately after the boys got on. We didn't get any pictures with them this time around, but that was alright with me. I always appreciate when artists take the time to speak to their fans individually, so I loved getting to see them meet and speak to a few people, especially knowing how tired they were. They really are amazing people and you can tell their love for their fans is genuine. (This picture I took of Josh has already been posted everywhere I could post it because it is my most prized possession at this point in time, so my deepest apologies to those who have already seen it 12 times).

The Dallas show was on March 8th, 2023. I drove back from San Marcos the night before and arrived home at about 3 a.m. the morning of the show (because I went to another show in Austin on March 7th). I was so excited about the upcoming concert that I could not stay asleep. I had already made up my mind about going a little earlier for this show, because I really wanted to be in the front row if I could, and I wound up waking before my alarm. I had discovered one of my coworkers was also going to the Dallas concert and met up with her and her friends to wait in line, so I did wind up with a few familiar faces at this show. Although the venue staff was not prepared for the crowd they were getting and the lines were very poorly organized, I met some of the sweetest concert friends I have ever made at this show! The first 20ish people in line were all so fun and funny to sit with all day, and we all exchanged phone numbers and social media before going into the venue. This concert was significantly crazier than the Austin show was, simply because the venue staff did not know how to handle a sold-out crowd of very serious 16 to 26 year olds throughout the day. I love the Hi-Fi and I love seeing my favorite artists in small venues, but the lack of organization and communication between the staff was a bit frustrating for the people who waited all day for the show. They sold an unlimited amount of (expensive) fast passes, which was something I did not appreciate but I did still buy in order to keep my spot in line, and the security did very little to watch out for that large group of people once they brought us inside the Echo Lounge. I spent the first hour and a half of my time inside frustrated and nervous because of the way we were being handled and how our concerns were being ignored, especially given the wide demographic of people in the crowd. We were lined up and packed into the Echo Lounge, a room in the venue with a bar and a photo booth that I did not know existed, and we were instructed to go down a flight of stairs when the doors were opened. The venue staff basically told us it was a free-for-all once the doors opened, we just had to make it down the stairs to get to our spots. There were a lot of younger, smaller girls in the room who were going to be "competing" with grown men and women for their spots in the actual concert hall downstairs, and this was what frustrated me the most out of the entire process. The venue staff did next to nothing to assure the safety of the teenagers in the room, which was something that bothered me quite a bit, though it did not wind up affecting me much personally in the end.

All of that being said, there were several members of the venue staff who were still very understanding and kind when we asked them questions. The security was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when we made it down, just telling people not to run but not doing anything when people ran anyway. I understand that the venue simply was not prepared for that large of a crowd that early in the day, but I do wish they had handled a lot of things very differently.

All of the friends I made got the spots we wanted. I was in the front row on Josh's side with the group of girls I went to the concert with, and almost all of the people we met in line were front row on Bobby's side when we made it in. I was so relieved to finally be in there that the time once again passed pretty fast, and the setlist for the concert felt extremely short to me a second time around. I had the time of my life at this show, too. The boys really know how to work the crowd and they performed with high energy the entire time. The crowd around me was once again super active and into the show, which is something I love to be a part of, and it made the entire fast-pass debacle worth it to me personally. The barricade in this venue is much closer to the stage than the one in Emo's, which was very exciting for me. I love being super close because of how into the music I get, and this was a show where waiting all day definitely paid off. I threw some flowers on the stage at the end of the encore and Josh took them off the stage with him, which was one of the primary highlights of my night.

After the show, I regrouped with some of the friends I made in the parking lot. We pretty unanimously decided not to wait around all night for Inhaler to come out and meet fans that night, so most of us went home before the boys came outside. I was driving my mom home and I did not want to keep her out all night if they were going to take a super long time, so we went home at about 11:30 and found out they came out just before midnight. A few of my friends did stick it out, and they said the boys were "disgustingly nice" and each took the time to personally speak to individual fans. I was disappointed to have missed them this time, but I loved hearing my friends' stories and conversations with the members afterward! (I was told that Josh talked about seeing me and one of my friends at the barricade, which was life-changing information for me and did spark tired-tears in my living room at one in the morning). 

Inhaler are amazing on stage and kind, genuine people in conversation. They are some of the most humble, down-to-Earth celebrities I have ever met, and I would always recommend going to see them if you ever get the chance. This will probably be their last U.S. tour with such small venues, and the last tour where you can walk into the venue at any time and have a perfect view, so try to catch them sooner rather than later if you can.

Again, overall this was incredible for me, and I can't wait to see them again soon... so stay tuned for that, because it's soon.