The Greeting Committee @ Union Transfer
WRITTEN & PHOTOS BY: Melissa Resurreccion
On Tuesday night, The Greeting Committee kicked off the start of their spring tour on April 10, supporting Jukebox The Ghost in Philadelphia. Hailing from Kansas City, the quartet composed of Addie Sartino (vocalist), Brandon Yangmi (guitarist), Austin Fraser (drummer), and Pierce Turcotte (bassist) has been making moves in the alternative pop scene with their high energy and infectious guitar riffs. Having played Lollapalooza and the Mo Pop Festival in 2016, along with support for bands such as Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness and Kitten, they’re ready to show the nation what they’ve got with this tour, while making friends along the way.
Jukebox The Ghost attracted an older crowd with their bouncy piano pop so The Greeting Committee was among the younger percent of people in the venue. The instrumentalists came out first, warming up the crowd, introducing themselves with some snazzy beats. Confused about the lack of their frontwoman, I nearly came to the conclusion that Jukebox The Ghost had two openers, but before I knew it, Sartino ran out from backstage with enough positive energy to light up all of Philadelphia. They started their set with a new song titled, “Aneurism,” followed by their high energy, guitar heavy song, “She’s a Gun,” from their EP Meeting People is Easy. Yangmi’s strumming of his electric guitar and Fraser’s light addition of the drum in the beginning of the song only makes you want to bop your head and jump around.
By the end of their second song, they had impressed the crowd, filling the venue with an abundance of energy. Sartino has an amazing stage presence, jumping around the stage, making it hers, along with Fraser’s slight backup vocals from behind the drumset, and Yangmi yelling small countdowns that contributed to the energy beaming off the stage. One thing I noticed during their set was that between songs, instead of someone talking to the crowd in silence, they added their little beats for background music, which made it surprisingly a lot more entertaining than you’d expect. Stripping things down a bit with “Birthday Song,” another one of the tracks on their impending album, the only two people left on the stage were Sartino and Yangmi playing an acoustic guitar. With Yangmi sitting barefoot and criss-cross on the stage and Sartino clutching her microphone tight, there’s a quiet hum of conversation from the back of the venue, but that didn’t stop Sartino from singing with such passion and emotion. Drawing the crowd back in, they covered “Kids” by MGMT, earning them a cheer of excitement from the crowd. With the rest of the band joining them back on stage, they returned to their high energy performance with Sartino bopping around, and even reaching the point where she ran off the stage and into the crowd, dancing with everyone.
As their set came to a close, they sang my personal favorite of theirs, “Hands Down.” From their EP It’s Not All That Bad, the song will lead you to want to fall in love and dance to it on a sunny afternoon with your significant other. The bright guitar riffs and constant rhythm of a tambourine make the song feel like the sun is shining on your face, even in a dimly lit room. Before their last song, Sartino looked into the crowd and truthfully told us that she wanted to crowd surf to celebrate the end of their first set, and we all happily obliged. Ironically closing their set with “Don’t Go,” they bid their farewells.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen The Greeting Committee live, and they surely didn’t disappoint. You could tell that they gave the crowd their all, and it was really refreshing seeing everyone so happy and full of energy. Though I only had the pleasure of meeting Turcotte and Sartino after their set, they were so happy to talk and get acquainted with their fans. They’re still a very small band, but give them some time– their sunny disposition will take over the alternative pop scene! Revealing that they’ve been working on their debut album “This is It,” I’m excited to have them soundtrack more sunny days with the windows down. Their pure hearts and devotion to music and creativity is inspiring, and I can’t wait to see them eventually headline their own tour.
Follow them on Instagram and Twitter @TheGCBand, check out their music video for “She’s a Gun,” inspired by retro video games, and expect to hear more from them in the near future!
Setlist:
- Aneurism
- She’s a Gun
- Pull It
- $
- 17
- Dancing To Nothing At All
- You’ve Got Me
- Birthday
- Kids by MGMT
- Hands Down
- Don’t Go
