NATE RUESS

Nate Ruess good, but lacking something fun.

Just when you thought the fun had ended with the news of the Grammy award winning band’s split, Nate Ruess joins a bunch of Romantics and throws together a few tunes just in time for this year’s Fuji Rock. So, here we are, some two years later, with Ruess playing the same Green Stage he did last time.

Ruess’ new material is lacking a bit compared to the Fun albums. He still can belt it out like a Broadway singer, but lacks a vocal range to complete the ‘Queen’ references he’s received in the past. His backing band, The Romantics are sufficient and support Ruess well, but make no mistake, the band is called Nate Ruess and the Romantics, not the other way around. The new material has similar arrangements to Fun, but lacks the memorable lines and sing along gold, that led the group to fame and fortune.

The 50 minute set consisted of the bulk of the material from the group’s new album, which people seemed to like, but were clearly waiting for the few radio hits that made the man famous. There was a similar lackluster reaction from fans as Nate played “Oceans” from his first band, the Format. Nate was persistent however and praised the crowd whenever he could. Making the best of his new material, he urged fans to “sing along if you know the words, if you don’t, sing whatever makes you happy.”

Nate didn’t deny the fans their singing time altogether though, he dropped “Carry On” fairly early into the set, hit us with an extended singalong friendly version of “We Are Young” midway through, then closed the set with “Some Nights”. Through it all, it was a decent set, but I wouldn’t exactly call it “fun”.