The Outfit

With a 9pm set time you never know exactly what to except from the band and the crowd. The Outfit began their set with music that you can rock out and dance to. Based in the rock side of things their bass line, beats and guitar riffs can make anyone really want to dance. Immediately I took notice to Vello Verder’s (vocals/guitar) presence, with his incredible voice and amazing energy, that never faltered throughout the entire show.

One song after another, Vello along with the rest of the band Franciso (guitar), Aureliano (bass), and Jon Hawkes (drums), continued on with their British psychedelic sounding music. In finishing their set, which to me didn’t seem long enough, the crowd energetically cheered on for an encore, which unfortunately we didn’t receive. They did a truly phenomenal performance and I can’t wait to see what they do net. The Outfit have become one of my new favourite indie bands here in Toronto. They definitely are a must see for all.

- Toronto Indie - Pam Nichol

These guys sounded like they were straight out of London. They played fun Brit rock songs mixing nerdiness with rock 'n' roll attitude. These guys were young, cute and greasy. They play their infectious dance rock songs solidly. Everyone’s skills had a chance to shine thanks to their clear delivery. The yelling harmonies and up-tempo songs never let up, which made for a lively set. Things picked up even more when the melodica was toned down and the distortion took over. They do lose cool points for using. I’m a sucker for any attempt to wear cool shirts while on stage. The drummer had a moose sweater on and the guitarist had a "I Ain’t No Claire Huxtable" T-shirt. The audience yelled for an encore - Chart Attack-Phil Villeneuve

imes are good for The Outfit.

Things aren't always easy when you're an unsigned band trying to make a name for yourself in the midst of one of the country's biggest music scenes, but these Toronto indie rockers are starting to do just that. They've been steadily building a reputation since 2003, when front man Vello Verder and drummer Jon Hawkes founded the band while at school for music production, later adding guitarist Francisco and bassist Aureliano. "It's always a struggle," they readily admit. "We've had quite a few ups and downs, but finally things are starting to come together."

They certainly are. Thanks to an energetic live act and a sound that successfully blends the eighties with the British Invasion and today's dance rock, The Outfit has won gigs opening for acts as big as The Killers and Maximo Park, as well as getting glowing reviews for its set at last year's North By Northeast. They may not have landed that elusive record contract quite yet, but they are gaining momentum. A feat all the more impressive when you consider that the world's airwaves — once a young up-and-coming band's greatest ally — are now essentially shut to anyone without a major label and a bland, forgettable single to hock. "To us radio has hit a new low," the boys agree. "It's too monotonous. Mainstream radio is simply not representative of what is truly happening in the music scene in Toronto, or anywhere else for that matter." Though they are quick to add, "At least there are venues like MySpace to make it all accessible."

Happy with their recent successes, the boys are hooking up with Toronto producer Brian Moncarz (The Junction, Scarlet O'Hara) in an effort to extend their sound on a new EP. "Up until recently it has been about our live show," they explain. "Now that we're recording, our shit is starting to sound really cool. We're doing things on recordings that we are not able to reproduce live. It's really exciting."

Just one more step for a band looking to keep doing what they love to do.
- SoundProof Magazine

I haven’t been hitting up as many shows as I’d like to be cause of all this damn school work, but you can bet your sweet buns I made it out of the house to catch Sybris when they strolled through town. Their debut album, with all that fluid bass and soaring guitar, sent shivers up my spine all this school year, reminding me what a good alternative rock band can sound like (and I mean alternative in that sort of way). As fate would have it my girlfriends friend’s band, The Outfit, was the opening act, so you see, I killed two birds here. There was another band called Anathallo filling the middle slot who played some heartfelt, twelve-member band blues. Well not blues, but you know what I mean…

The show went pretty much as I expected, which is to say, well. I kind of already figured that a lot of shoegaze-y bands never really sound that great live, and Sybris, they do have that wall of sound thing going on sometimes. Needless to say, it was the quiet parts that were more intriguing in the live setting. Which is understandable cause I bet it’s hard as fuck trying to recreate what they did in the studio.

They played pretty much the entirety of the album and “Hobo Detail Shop” put a big stupid smile on my face. The bass drum seemed to be causing some problems during the set—a damn cinder block couldn’t hold the thing in place. Angela Mullenhour sang well enough to remind me why I think she’s got one of the best voices in rock today and the band made me proud of writing this. Something really odd happened at the show though. See, the place was packed for The Outfit, crowded for Anathallo, and just populated for Sybris. Isn’t that shit supposed to work the other way around? Chalk one up to Toronto supporting its indie talent.

- Andrew Iliadis

/february 2006/ - Andrew Iliadis