After nearly two decades, Arizona’s most beloved indie-rock duo, The Format, made their long-awaited return to the stage, and it was well worth the wait. The band, who had been on an indefinite hiatus since 2008, originally announced reunion shows in 2020 — three dates each in New York City, Chicago and Phoenix. Given the intimate nature of the spaces selected and the overwhelming demand, it was no surprise that ticket sales broke the internet. Fans were ecstatic at the idea of seeing the band perform after so many years; however, due to the pandemic, the shows were unfortunately postponed twice before they were ultimately canceled in 2022. With the announcement of the new shows came new, significantly larger venues, which would allow more fans the opportunity to witness their return — with the first being a show in the band’s hometown at the iconic “Madhouse on McDowell” at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.

Mother Nature tried to foil the band’s return once more, sending record-setting downpours through the Valley the day before the show, leading to a closure of the fairgrounds where The Format was set to play the following day. With more rain forecast for the evening of the show, fans were concerned for the fate of the performance. And while there was a torrential downpour on fans as they waited to enter Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the skies eventually cleared, and everything went off without a hitch — though the show’s start time was pushed slightly to allow fans who had been stuck in traffic to make it to their seats.

Hometown shows are always special, but the band went out of their way to make this one unforgettable. Everything about it was Arizona — from merch designs inspired by the Phoenix Suns, to their stage entrance to the Phoenix Suns intro music and an announcer — even their guest appearance. Hometown pride was woven into every last detail. As fans awaited the start of the show, the Madhouse on McDowell mascot, dressed in a Phoenix Suns-inspired Format jersey, took to the stands, handing out rally towels, launching merch into the audience and hyping the crowd. Many in the crowd speculated that Nate Ruess or Sam Means may have been behind that mask — I guess we’ll never know! The lights dimmed, and the old-school Phoenix Suns intro song began to play as the mascot took the stage, riling up the crowd as an announcer came over the speakers introducing the band. Fans enthusiastically swung their rally towels as the band took the stage, and a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the crowd as they launched their set with fan favorite “Tie the Rope.”

After playing through the first few tracks — “Wait, Wait, Wait,” “The Compromise,” and “Tune Out” — frontman Nate Ruess paused to address the audience. “I know it’s obvious, but it’s been almost 20 years, I have to say ‘ladies and gentlemen, we are The Format, it’s nice to see you.’” This was met with another round of deafening cheers from the audience.

The 18-song setlist consisted of a mix of tracks from Interventions and Lullabies, Dog Problems, and Snails, including songs like “Time Bomb,” “On Your Porch” and “Janet.” With every mention of Arizona within their songs, the crowd cheered with such fervor that it drowned out the music at times. Ruess energetically bounced around the stage while belting the songs — so much so that he needed a short rest after some tracks, joking that he’s “old as shit” and how performing “is a hell of a lot harder now.” Despite this, he gave it his all while performing. Fans illuminated the arena with their flashlights as Ruess serenaded with “A Mess to Be Made.” It was clear just how meaningful this reunion was to many, as at any point in time, you could find fans all around with tears streaming down their faces.

Ruess took several moments to express his gratitude, letting everyone know, “This has been the most enjoyable time I’ve had in the last…I can’t even remember…the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had.” He told the story of how this venue came to be the location for their return, sharing that, over dinner, Sam reminisced about how they would go to the fair as children to see bands and felt that the show should be there — even if it was only half full. Ruess joked that, because half full was how it was envisioned, “half of you need to get the fuck out,” which had the audience laughing. The room was, in fact, filled to the brim, with every last seat of the nearly 15,000-seat capacity venue filled. Ruess spoke on a preference for starting off with more intimate venues for their return, so taking on this venue was a bit out of their comfort zone; however, you never would have known it. While it was their first proper show in almost 20 years, they didn’t miss a beat.

Ruess picked up the guitar for the debut of a new song, “Shot in the Dark,” sharing that “in the last few years, I learned to play a couple of chords very poorly on the guitar and I’m going to try it out tonight.” The band closed out the set with “The First Single (You Know Me),” which had every last person clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The band left the stage, and the fans caused such a scene stomping and pounding the seats that the ground literally shook.

The band returned for their encore, starting with “On Your Porch” and the debut of yet another song, “Holy Roller.” As they finished up the song, a fan in the audience could be heard yelling “new album!” Ruess responded by saying he wasn’t sure about a new album and that tonight was about the hits. For their final song of the (first) encore, Ruess announced a special guest for what would end up as the most Arizona-coded thing ever — Jim Adkins of Arizona’s Jimmy Eat World joined Arizona’s The Format for a cover of Arizona’s Gin Blossoms’ “Hey Jealousy.”

The band exited with this song but returned for one final encore performance of “A Save Situation.” The crowd lingered after the show, excitedly reliving every last moment of the show with friends and reminiscing on memories from seeing The Format 20 years ago, packed into those tiny rooms.

The band is set to perform for two nights in New York City on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and one night in Los Angeles on Oct. 10. The band is also set to appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Oct. 6. Outside of these performances, it’s not clear what’s next for the band — but we hope this is only just the beginning!

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