Carlo Cavaluzzi
Audio By Carbonatix
The Format has a knack for bringing people together. Case in point: More than two decades after the duo of Sam Means and Nate Ruess became one of Arizona’s defining indie acts, the band and their music continue to unite fans across the Valley.
Earlier this year, hundreds filled Crescent Ballroom for an intimate gig where The Format played songs from their latest release, “Boycott Heaven.” Thousands more packed Veterans Memorial Coliseum during the Arizona State Fair last September for the band’s first Phoenix show in 18 years.
The fandom surrounding The Format isn’t limited to its concerts, though. This weekend, die-hard followers of the band will gather in Scottsdale to celebrate their comeback, their latest album and the community that’s grown around the music.
The Format Phoenix Fan Meetup on Sunday, July 12, at Pho Cao in Scottsdale will offer an afternoon of live music, prize raffles, art projects and other activities inspired by the Arizona indie act while supporting local artists and grassroots organizations.
For organizers, though, the event’s biggest draw isn’t the chance to win band swag. It’s giving local fans a place to connect.
The meetup is the brainchild of Oliver Hadsall and Emily Evans, two Valley elementary school teachers who bonded over their mutual love of The Format. In a piece for AltWire, Hadsall said their event aims to connect fans of the band.
“Fans are hungry for connection with each other, with the music they love,” Hadsall wrote. “This is the perfect way to take a community and make it more close-knit.”
Provided by Oliver Hadsall
How The Format inspired the Phoenix fan meetup
Earlier this year, Hadsall and Evans traveled to Salt Lake City and California to catch stops on The Format’s Boycott Heaven tour. Before each concert, the band hosted Saturdays in the Park, free daytime gatherings featuring acoustic performances by Means and Ruess mixed with a casual hangout with their fans. Local nonprofits and community organizations are also showcased at each event.
Hadsall told Phoenix New Times the Saturdays in the Park events are an example of how The Format has built a casual rapport with its fanbase and a sense of community.
“You could be having a full conversation with (drummer) Will Noon about flushable wipes and turn around and watch Sam Means beating the shit out of a button maker to unjam it,” Hadsall says. “And then you meet a fan with a cool tattoo and now you’re talking about teaching preschool and children licking walls.”
After Hadsall and Evans returned to the Valley, they decided Phoenix fans deserved something similar.
The original plan was modest: invite local fans to hang out, make zines and talk about The Format. Friends soon joined the effort. Local event promoter Tyler Honga of The Antibacteria Cafeteria got involved. The meetup grew into a larger celebration of the community the band has fostered since its debut in 2002.
Part of that enduring appeal, Hadsall says, is that The Format’s songs have grown in meaning over the years.
“The music hasn’t really aged. We’ve aged,” Hadsall says. “The lyrics just hit different than before.”
Provided by Oliver Hadsall
What to expect at The Format Phoenix Fan Meetup
Hadsall says Sunday’s fan meetup takes its cues from Saturdays in the Park by spotlighting local artists, nonprofits and community organizations. Proceeds from the event will benefit Valley homeless outreach AZ Hugs.
Means has endorsed the gathering and donated signed vinyl records, vintage merchandise and other memorabilia for the raffle. His wife, Anita, also contributed custom hand-bedazzled buttons, while another member of his family created artwork inspired by “Boycott Heaven.”
The meetup will also include a collaborative fanzine project, which Hadsall says will be created by fans. Disposable cameras will be available at Pho Cao for meetup attendees to document the afternoon before organizers develop the film into a community-focused publication.
Naturally, even the cameras feature a reference to The Format, specifically one of the songs off “Boycott Heaven.”
“We named one of our disposable cameras for the event ‘Shot In The Dark,'” Hadsall says.
Local acts Bay Window, Hidden Arcana and Van Byrger are scheduled to perform during the meetup and Honga says the band’s might work a Format cover into their sets if the mood strikes.
“It was encouraged when we invited them in to play, but it wasn’t a mandatory thing,” Honga says. “They’re bringing a similar style of music and we’re letting them have fun with their sets. That’s one of the things this event is about.”
Given that The Format isn’t scheduled to kick off its summer tour until late July, is there any chance that Sam Means, a current Valley resident, might make an appearance on Sunday?
Nothing is planned, Honga says. But after seeing how enthusiastically The Format has embraced the event from afar, he isn’t completely ruling out the possibility.
“As much as I’d love that to happen, that’s just not something that has been on the books as far as our conversations (with Sam) about the event have gone,” Honga says. “But I know crazier things have happened.”
The Format Phoenix Fan Meetup. Sunday, July 12, noon to 5 p.m. at Pho Cao, 7436 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale. Tickets are available with a donations to AZ HUGS.
