A popular indie rock band has reunited for its first concert in 18 years.
The Format, featuring singer Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, performed together at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix on Saturday. The sold-out show featured 19 songs including fan favorites “Tie the Rope,” “On Your Porch,” and “The First Single (You Know Me),” plus a cover of Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy” with Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins.
“From the very first line of ‘Tie the Rope,’ it was obvious that both the crowd and band were ready to erupt after the 18-year wait. Ruess’s signature timbre sounded as if he hadn’t missed a day, and yet he was nearly drowned out by the audience by the time the opening track reached the chorus,” The Republic wrote in a review of the concert.
Ruess and Means formed The Format in Peoria, Arizona, in 2002, and quickly became popular in the indie/alternative rock scene. They released two albums, appeared on an episode of MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16,″ and toured with artists like The All-American Rejects and Guster.
The Format last performed in 2007 and officially disbanded in 2008. Ruess went on to form the Grammy-winning rock band fun., known for hits “We Are Young” and “Some Nights,” and co-wrote songs for Kesha (“Die Young”), Zedd (“Stay the Night”), Pink, Keith Urban and Maroon 5. Ruess has been largely retired for a decade, however, focusing on his family.
Ruess and Means planned to do a reunion tour in 2020, but the concerts were postponed multiple times and ultimately canceled due to the Covid pandemic. According to The Republic, the anticipation proved to be emotional for fans, who danced, cried and sang along, but also for the band.
“I know it’s obvious, but it’s been almost 20 years,” Ruess said Saturday. “I’ve been wanting to say this for almost 20 years. We are The Format.”
The Format is also scheduled to play sold-out concerts at the Beacon Theatre in New York and the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. Fans can get tickets via Seat Geek, Vivid Seats and StubHub.
But could more music from The Format be on the way? The Republic says Ruess performed two new songs, including a “borderline-Tom Petty-inspired” track called “Shot in the Dark” and another called “Holy Roller.”
“For the last like 10 years I’ve been much happier and much more sane at home raising kids, and I told myself it would have to take something so special to even take my mind off of that- and this reunion and preparing for these shows (specifically this go around) have been nothing short of magical so far,” Ruess wrote on The Format’s website. “I didn’t even realize how much I missed these songs (and this group).”
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