“Why does it hurt so much?” the 25-year-old singer asked during “Totally,” one of a handful of tunes built around a plunky piano groove; more INXS-like than U2-ish.
One way Hewson varied greatly from his dad on stage: He played guitar throughout Sunday’s set, and thus stayed anchored to the microphone at centerstage all night. He and bandmate Josh Jenkinson played some lovely, swirling guitar parts, too, especially toward the end. They built up the momentum and reverb with “Cheer Up, Baby” and the pre-encore finale “It Won’t Always Be Like This” before finishing with another ultra-Killers-y anthem, “My Honest Face,” all ecstatically received by the crowd.
Hewson and Jenkinson also played some elegant, Beach House-style drippy guitar bits in one of the night’s mellower tunes, “Dublin in Ecstasy,” the song that prompted Hewson’s roll call of Irish people in attendance.
Another humorous instance of their Irish pride: They had a T-shirt at the merch stand that asked, “Who the feck is Inhaler?” Sunday’s performance left little doubt more people will soon know Inhaler’s music with or without the U2 family connection.