Is there a more apt place to live debut your song about Heaven than in a star-studded cemetery in Los Angeles?
The Format returned to LA for the first time in 18 years last week with a full set of old hits and singalongs and blessed the loyal fans with the debut of "Boycott Heaven," that they kept tucked away from their previous gigs of their mini tour.
Singer Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means, along with their touring band of Mark Buzard (guitar and keyboards), Don Raymond Jr. (bass) and Will Noon (drums) held three other comeback gigs before their final one in Hollywood.
The group kicked it all off in late Sept. at the Arizona State Fair which was the first time they had performed live together since 2007.
From there, they traveled east for two nights at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre, the Broadway treasure known for its opulent design, then they popped into the Tonight Show (10/6). Finally they jetted across the country for last Friday's (10/10) show at Hollywood Forever Cemetery where they joked about having to go back to be dads when they get back to Arizona.
Formed in 2002, the group's debut album, Interventions + Lullabies, dropped the following year on Elektra Records and quickly found an audience.
The follow-up Snails EP in 2005 was just as adorable and tender, but with brass and orchestral elements weaving through the arrangements, centered around Nate's delightful singing.
In 2006, after being strangely dropped by Atlantic Records, they responded with Dog Problems, a nearly perfect LP of wit, heartbreak, and such catchy melodies you'd think the sky would be the limit for the band.
And yet, it was the beginning of a painfully long, and odd hiatus.
Fortunately Ruess didn’t tap out, instead he formed fun. with some guy named Jack Antonoff and also Andrew Dost, who found smashing success (despite the un-Googleable name) with 2012's Some Nights led by its #1 single, “We Are Young.”
The tune earned them two Grammys, including Song of the Year, and the sky seemed to be the limit for fun.
Weirdly it was for Jack but not for Nate who started a family and assumed the role as dad. Jack, meanwhile, became the go-to producer and co-songwriter for folks like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, Florence + the Machine, Lorde, and Sabrina Carpenter, whoever those people are.
So when word came out that The Format were reuniting for this mini tour, no one, including yours truly, spent much time wondering where Nate had gone, why he chose the mundane life of soccer practices and school pickups over concert halls: we were all just so so so happy.
Concert in a cemetery? Fine!
And while they rocked out among the headstones of Mel Blanc, Johnny Ramone, and Douglass Fairbanks, and spoke about how their first studio album in nearly 20 years would be released in a few months, there was no need to Boycott Heaven, as our prayers had been answered.
The show's openers, Phantom Planet, were also a nice throwback to a few decades past, and it was such a surreal scene to walk among so many last resting spots of Hollywood icons while hearing them play "California" on a ridiculously perfect night of clear skies, warm breezes, and cool kids pouring drinks for their friends out of boxes of wine atop picnic blankets.
When Nate & Co. took the stage just a few hundred feet north of Paramount Studios, they were greeted with an loving round of cheers followed by one song after another from their catalogue that seemingly everyone in the graveyard knew by heart.
Even though their last gig in LA had been in 2007 at the soon-to-be shuttered Mayan, it felt like the band had never left our hearts.
What hiatus? And who even needs new tunes when the old ones still hit?
Apparently The Format had as much time on their little tour as the fans did because soon after they left LA they formally announced their new album and subsequent tour.
The Boycott Heaven Spring Tour kicks off in Boston in March and heads west through April. Because the schedule is missing any LA dates it sounds suspiciously like they may make a guest appearance at Coachella second weekend. Fingers crossed.
Get your tickets to the tour on The Format's website.
Boycott Heaven 2026 North American Tour
3/26 Roadrunner, Boston, MA
3/28 Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia, PA
3/30 HISTORY, Toronto, ON
3/31 Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
4/2 The Salt Shed, Chicago, IL
4/3 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
4/4 The Eastern, Atlanta, GA
4/7 House of Blues, Dallas, TX
4/8 ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX
4/10 The Mission Ballroom, Denver, CO
4/11 The Union, Salt Lake City, UT
4/13 The Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA
4/16 The Castro Theatre, San Francisco, CA
4/19 SOMA, San Diego, CA
