Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
It was a shock to many in 2020 when The Format announced comeback shows in three cities and an even bigger shock when they had to be cancelled. Is it nostalgia, the band finally getting the recognition they deserve, or a bit of both? Whichever category we want to label it under, we’re just glad The Format is back
Walking into The Format’s show felt like stepping into a time warp and transporting ourselves back to the 2000’s. It was as if the concert hall doors wiped away our memories of everything, good and bad (mostly bad), that came after. There were no social media apps rotting our brains away, there was no concern about AI taking our jobs, there was just a 3,5000 who wanted to hear indie pop hits for the next 90 minutes. The power duo of Nate Ruess and Sam Means made that possible.
Right from the beginning, The Format had no problem picking it back up where they left off with “If Work Permits” and “The Compromise.” With 20 years passing since the release of Dog Problems, Nate joked with the crowd that “if Philly sounds bad it’s because I’m giving you guys the best of my voice.” With how pitch perfect he sounded on the two opening tracks, we know every show of this tour is going to sound great. This tour wasn’t just to dig up old hits though, it is to also celebrate their new album Boycott Heaven. The live renditions of songs like “Shot in the Dark” and “Holy Roller” solidified that this new album will be regarded in the same vein as their pre-hiatus discography, especially since these songs let Nate showcase his guitar playing live.
You can’t end the first night of tour in 20 years without a bang. After a whopping 16-song set including an R.E.M cover of “Losing My Religion,” The Format took a quick two minute break before coming back out for a generous four song encore. There’s a bit of irony in the last song being “The First Single” but it was a bittersweet send off to a night we thought would never happen. We know the band members have settled down and have responsibilities off the road but we hope this tour is the first of many to come.
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Kyle Musser//