The Format
Words: Cristina Martin
Photo: Jim Newberry

Appeared:
July 22, 2007
Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg

WELL WORTH STANDING IN THE RAIN, SOAKED TO THE BONE!

“This rain ain’t stoppin’ shit!,” proclaimed lead singer Nate Ruess about three songs into The Format’s highly energetic set.

What had started as a beautiful summer day in downtown St. Pete was quickly overshadowed by gray clouds that proceeded to pour down a consistent flow of rain for several hours.  With limited covering in the venue, many spectators, me included, were forced to stand in the middle of the courtyard and brave the showers.  A soggy and increasingly smelly bunch we were.  But, as soon as The Format took the stage and launched into “Dog Problems” with the type of passion that is usually saved for the last song of an encore, all discomforts and annoyances were washed away. 

The Format is an incredibly entertaining band to watch, and this is greatly due to Reuss.  It was difficult to take my eyes off of his tiny frame as he paced around the stage, because he sings each song with such animation and feeling that it creates quite a personal experience.  On top of that, his vocal abilities are tremendous, and he often times tackled the higher harmonies of the songs without going into a falsetto.  As for the rest of the band, they were happy to play their instruments with fervor and fun, but from a stationary place.

One thing that was very noticeable was the audience’s desire to sing every word of every song very loudly, but the band did not seem to mind.  In fact, they encouraged it, eventually leading a group sing-along to Van Morrison’s “Caravan” with everyone enthusiastically shouting out the chorus of “La,la,la,la,la,lala!” By the end of the show it didn’t matter that I was dripping wet, that my mascara had bled out under my eyes making me resemble a raccoon, or that I was standing ankle deep in a warm puddle that contained an unknown amount of disgustingness, there’s no other place I would have rather been than at that show.