Photo credit: Jacob Glombowski<\/p>\n
Review by Maaya O’Flaherty<\/p>\n
Boston\u2019s Brighton Music Hall shook under the weight of explosive enthusiasm as INOHA took the stage Saturday night. The San Antonio-based band, whose name is an acronym for In Need of Her Affection, may be early in its career, but from the first guitar riff, it was clear they already knew how to drive a crowd\u2019s energy up. Formed in 2023, INOHA blends pop-punk, indie rock, and surf rock into a sound that feels both nostalgic and new. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Keanu Bicol, bassist and vocalist Christian Young, drummer Ricky Juarez, and lead guitarist and vocalist Gavin Gonzalez. They stopped in Boston on their first U.S. headlining tour, following a U.K. run two months earlier. The tour promotes their whole discography, including their newest EP \u201cChance 2 Dance,\u201d released in May 2025, as well as their debut album \u201cALOHA INOHA\u201d and their debut EP \u201cThe Next Stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
After opening sets from Slow Joy and Worry Club built an electric base layer of energy through mosh pits and nonstop jumping, the lights dimmed to a crimson glow. When Usher\u2019s \u201cDJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love\u201d blasted through the speakers, fans immediately recognized the nod to the Minecraft parody \u201cRevenge,\u201d shouting references to the band\u2019s own parody track \u201cSeventh Mineshaft.\u201d The moment perfectly set the tone for the night as INOHA stepped onto the stage: chaotic, fun, and self-aware.<\/p>\n
The band opened with \u201cMurder at the Peach Tree,\u201d a track that starts slow before accelerating into a whirlwind of guitar and drums.\u00a0 Red lights pulsed as Bicol\u2019s voice climbed into the chorus, and Gonzalez\u2019s guitar drove the tempo to a near-frenzy. Without pause, they launched into \u201cNaomi,\u201d introducing themselves with the song the band called \u201cINOHA in a nutshell.\u201d The first chord progression sent the room bouncing, and fans chanted \u201cHey!\u201d on every downbeat. During the last chorus, Gonzalez leaned into his microphone, shouting \u201cYour turn \u2013 nice and loud!\u201d as the crowd belted back \u201cNaomi\u2019s got me always coming down\u201d until the song ended.<\/p>\n
The energy only intensified with \u201cBullet Boy,\u201d where Young stepped to the center of the stage for the bass intro, giving the track a punchier live edge than the studio version, and the crowd chanted on rhythm. \u201cBiggest Salmon\u201d slowed the tempo slightly, but by the end, the music built to a crescendo, the energy never dipping. The set\u2019s first surprise came with \u201cCabaret,\u201d when Gonzalez took over lead vocals. His raspy vocals drew cheers as he led the crowd through a call-and-response singalong that turned the intimate venue into a choir of \u201coohs.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the most memorable moments of the night came with the debut of a new, unreleased song, \u201cMadness.\u201d Its raw emotion and reflective tone showcased the band\u2019s versatility, and fans stood captivated as Bicol\u2019s voice carried through the hush of the crowd. But the softened pace didn\u2019t last long. \u201cPapaya Man,\u201d a crowd favorite<\/span> from \u201cALOHA INOHA,\u201d reignited the chaos.\u00a0 When Bicol sang the lyric \u201cFood,\u201d the audience shouted the ad-lib \u201cAin\u2019t cheap!\u201d in unison.\u00a0 Young turned to Gonzalez mid-song and asked, \u201cHey Gavin, do you know where the Papaya Man is?\u201d\u00a0 Gonzalez grinned and replied without missing a beat: \u201cIn Boston!\u201d\u00a0 The audience roared before the two turned to each other and sang alternating lines.<\/p>\n INOHA\u2019s chemistry was effortless, their humor constant. At one point, Gonzalez got the crowd chanting \u201cPBR\u201d until their manager delivered him a beer on stage. Another time, Bicol came into the sea of the audience to dance. Later, during \u201cImitate\u201d from \u201cChance 2 Dance,\u201d Bicol orchestrated the crowd like a conductor: \u201cTo the left! To the right! Now hands in the air like you just don\u2019t care! Jump!\u201d The room obeyed, jumping in synchrony on his command. The band\u2019s pure playfulness turned the performance into something more than a concert; it felt like a shared inside joke between musicians and fans. Even slower songs, like \u201cFire in the Sun,\u201d featured moments of intimacy and musicianship, particularly during Gonzalez\u2019s emotive guitar solo. While \u201cSaturday Nights\u201d turned into a thematic highlight, fittingly performed on a Saturday, with Bicol asking, \u201cWhat day is it?\u201d and the audience shouting back the answer.<\/p>\n The night\u2019s momentum peaked with \u201cSeventh Heaven,\u201d the band\u2019s most popular track and an undeniable highlight. The band pushed the audience to \u201cMosh and crowd-surf, respectfully!\u201d Bicol drew out the opening note for nearly 10 seconds before yelling \u201cBoston!\u201d on the explosive drop. The floor shook. The entire venue screamed the lyrics. Juarez stood to drum. The rest of the band danced and jumped around, and the opening bands rushed back onto stage to join the chaos and splashed water over the crowd during the chorus. The end of the song seamlessly transitioned into \u201cTrips,\u201d ending with synchronized headbanging from everyone.<\/p>\n As the venue neared curfew, Bicol joked, \u201cWe don\u2019t have time for one more song\u2026 We have time for three!\u201d The closing stretch was pure celebration. \u201cALUCARDA,\u201d the first song INOHA ever released, featured a surprise twist of Gonzalez and Juarez switching instruments \u201cfor the first and last time ever,\u201d according to Gonzalez. The novelty didn\u2019t slow them down; if anything, it turned the performance into a victory lap, capped by Bicol\u2019s blistering guitar solo. They ended with \u201cThe Tide,\u201d a closer that felt like a deep breath after an hour of controlled mayhem.<\/p>\n INOHA may still be a young band, but their stage presence suggests otherwise. They didn\u2019t just perform; they interacted, teased, and responded, keeping the room alive in every quiet break and crashing drop. The show moved fast, but nothing about it felt rushed. Each transition, each joke, each shouted lyric carried the confidence of a band that understands its audience. INOHA\u2019s mix of humor, talent, and unfiltered charm made their Boston stop unforgettable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo credit: Jacob Glombowski Review by Maaya O’Flaherty Boston\u2019s Brighton Music Hall shook under the weight of explosive enthusiasm as INOHA took the stage Saturday night. The San Antonio-based band, whose name is an acronym for In Need of Her Affection, may be early in its career, but from the first guitar riff, it was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25371,"featured_media":51234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[215,2591],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51233"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25371"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51233"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51236,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51233\/revisions\/51236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}