The Format

I do have to say, I definitely miss the days when Nate Ruess still had long hair and was the cute, quiet front man of The Format. While we all love and adore Fun. and I still think Nate is a genius, there was a very lovable, intimate quality about the band back then that I always miss when I listen back on some of their earliest records. The Format hasn’t performed in years, but I still remember them as being the most painfully adorable bands I’d ever seen. Nate still had long, grungy hair and just about none of the confidence he has now. I remember watching him swaying from side to side as he sang, sitting in a chair set a few inches back from the guitarist rather than up front, even though he was the lead singer. Still, there was something special about him, and all of his lyrics were so striking and personal that I watched everyone in the audience fall in love with him and with each other all at once. The Format’s live performances were always small and intimate, without a large production, but they certainly knew how to own the stage and rev up the crowd during some of their more upbeat songs like “The First Single (Cause A Scene).” I especially loved being able to see Nate perform before he was a multi-million dollar recording artist, when he still possessed the vulnerability of a kid trying to make it in the industry.