The Greeting Committee: A Vibrant Performance at Brighton Music Hall

By Kathia Dawson

December 5, 2022

The Greeting Committee’s performance was one of the best performances that I’ve seen yet. Here’s why. 

By Kathia Dawson

Performance Review

The band WILLIS opened with zeal, performing their indie/alternative music. They’re best known for their song I Think I Like When It Rains which has been streamed over 68 million times on Spotify. 

The Greeting Committee and I go way back. This was the first indie rock band whose music I truly fell in love with. I remember listening to their first EP, It's Not All That Bad on Soundcloud (before I could convince my parents to buy me a Spotify subscription) in middle school while waiting for my parents to pick me up. Their song Hands Down was the first song I associated with real love. It might have even been the first song I sent to someone as an ode to our love. 

Knowing my relationship to The Greeting Committee, one may construe my enthusiasm as bias when I say The Greeting Committee has to be one of, if not, the best bands I’ve seen live. 

Their energetic performance was that of a rock band with the musical group bringing 100% to the stage.The band’s energy radiated steadily throughout the whole performance, they joked around on stage, danced, put on a cowboy hat. Fans not only got a front row seat not only to their performance but to their friendship.

Sartino was enthusiastic, telling the crowd Boston might be their favorite city and letting us in on a secret that Boston was the first city to sell out tickets. She started with “Can I Leave Me Too,” from their latest album. They performed their latest release “Hopscotch,” and “Anything But You,” and ended with my personal favorite “ Hands Down.” The venue was lively during this song as the band performed it with a rock style to it, and Sartino even jumped into the crowd to crowd surf. 

By Kathia Dawson

Background 

The band started in Kansas city, Missouri in the summer of 2014 when lead singer Addie Sartino, and Piece Turcotte were in high school. They released their first EP, It’s Not All That Bad in 2015 while both musicians were still in high school. Their most popular song, Hands Down is from their first EP has reached over 28 million streams on spotify. Its melodic tunes and nostalgic lyrics about first loves has made it into a song for dancing, crying, or both. Since they released their first EP they've opened for multiple artists like Saint Motel, Andrew McMahon, MisterWives and more. Their coming-of-age story permeates the band's discography with teen angst, and harmonic heartbreaks.   

Now the band includes original members along with drummer Michah Ritchie, and bass player Noah Spencer. Their first album This is It came out in October of 2018. In 2019 they released a 4 track EP entitled I’m afraid I’m Not Angry, which was produced by Jake Luppen of Hippo Campus. My favorite song from this EP is Call In The Morning. 

Their Latest Album + Newest Release 

In an interview Addie describes her sound as “dancey indie rock you can cry too.”  Which I totally agree with. She’s been able to keep up this same vibe throughout their albums. 

In September 2021 the band released its second full album Dandelion from. It includes bangers like “Wrapped Inside of Your Arms'' which heartbreaking lyrics hurt no matter what mood you’re in. It’s different from their usual upbeat tune with its slow acoustic harmony and extremely vulnerable lyrics, “I believe the whole word is wrapped inside of your arms,” and “Isn’t it funny how you can pass and I feel unchanged.” These lyrics hurt. 

They’re latest releases include two singles, “Anything But You,” and “Hopscotch.” Lead singer Sartino says Hopscotch was written quickly. Saying that when Piece sent her an instrumental demo and she immediately knew there was something special about the song. She drove around in her car trying to write lyrics (which is a typical ritual for her songwriting) and “hopscotch double-dutch,” kept coming to her mind. The words were from a notes app she had written a while back that stuck with her. From there she said the rest of the lyrics just flowed, and she shared the piece with Pierce who loved it. 

Sartino’s favorite part about touring is connecting with fans, which is visible in the way she interacts with fans while she’s on the stage and when she’s not. The Greeting Committee is one of the most authentic bands I’ve seen live.