JP Haynie, Golden Ghost, Crumbler

There’s no place I’d rather be on a Saturday evening than Kilby Court. Crumpler, a female-led Provo punk band, began the night. The set sounded like Blink 182, without tattoos. I moved my head with the energy, but the music was clearly written before testing the singer’s vocal range. The songs bottomed out around climaxes like a sled in the mall after the last escalator stair. Afterwards, some BYU students smoked cigarettes around a blessed fire. Laura (Golden Ghost) then took stage in front of drummer Brendon Massei (Viking Moses). Her voice was novel. Think Beach House blended with a crying bassett hound. Between verses she changed tempos and played harp-like guitar chords. Every time she hit a chorded refrain, I imagined she was using a comb to strum her guitar. Her voice bended between sound extremes, but always landed with perfect pitch. The crowd was half of what it once was when JP Haynie (not JP Haynie: the aspiring showtune performer) began.

A tall man with a dark moustache and glasses humbly took the stage with a band of similarly unobtrusive friends. Two electric guitars, bass, drums and a mini-synth began to gently pump in unison. Imagine dragging the weight of the world behind you in a crippling snow storm. One guitar ate the distortion of another like a wolf. I sensed winter’s cold, instinctively shook my head, and closed my eyes as if Haynie was about to begin a prayer. His voice shook, but it felt human. His music was focused. Each song had a single theme and was easy to keep track of. I scanned the crowd to see if everyone else was as into this as I was. Most people were nodding at Haynie as if reverently consenting to the emotions they felt. Sounds occasionally crescendo, but force was used sparingly. I briefly tasted Akron/Family and swallowed the comparison.

The drums crunched like potato chips and the band’s sound seemed to be a mutual effort rather than a fight for attention. The bassist, a twenty-something with matted hair grinned with each sweeping note. The guitars acknowledged each other for an instant before trailing off into the distance. Haynie strategically ended his set with the conclusion of his first song: Family River. During a guitar break he scratched his head, and, as if trying to forget something painful, shook it slightly while tracking the beat with his leg. His lips awkwardly pulled back from his face, and he continued. The crowd slowly bent forward and backward to the familiar beats presented in the first part of the song. The entire band ended resolutely with the most harmonious chord of the set and the crowd slowly retreated back into the frigid night. Haynie put on one of the finest local shows of the year.
 

 

Comments on this article

Posted on December 12, 2009 by johnny

Bradley Ferreira is a byu student

Posted on December 12, 2009 by Bret

Your poetic language made me shit my pants in a beautiful snowstorm with mermaids and lilacs surrounding the weight of the world at its lowest point. You suck.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by the compoud

all you got to say about crumpler is vocal range? what a dumfuk. blink 182is your only reference point? listen to more music dumfuk. hey, who let this dumfuk write reviews? and when is S.L.U.G. gonna go back to the underground? buncha bullshit nobody should pay attention to. fuk it. S.L.U.G. is all dumfuks 'cept jessica. go provo, fuk SLC

Posted on December 13, 2009 by the compound is drunk

the compound is drunk. fuk the compound. fuk SLC. fuk bret. but not johnny or kari or bryan.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by karl

hey guys! what's up?

Posted on December 13, 2009 by spencer's boy

This review is silly.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Bradley

Anyone want a piece of this sausage?

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Viktor Hitler-Stalin

Your writing tastes of shit-soaked Cheerios®, swallow that comparison.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Bradley Ferreira

@ Bret: Thanks for the feedback. You have a way with words ;) @ The Compoud: I recognize your frustration, but they played punk at a downbeat folk show and sounded as described in the review. The purpose of a review isn't to relate openers to obscure bands, but to give an abbreviated version of the show to people who weren't there.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Chris

Bradley, nothing more annoying than reviewers responding to comments. No need for you to defend yourself. You said what you said, leave it at that.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by hoobastankfan623

Blink 182 rulz! So does the compound!

Posted on December 15, 2009 by bryan lesueur

the reviewer got it way wrong, i saw a straight edge tatoo on the bass player's ankle. and i heard the dude eats weed! what a poser. but whatever, i'm with hoobastankfan! i love blink! and obviously some of you were not even there cause this band SERIOUSLY sounded like blink. everyone was talking about it after the show. we were talking about it the whole drive to provo, smoking cigarettes. but blink isn't the only band they ripped off. he forgot jawbreaker, discount and salt city. now those are some kick ass bands. the best song of the night was that Salt City cover, it melted the straight edge tatoo right off my ankle!

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Brigham

People only pretend to like Discount because their shitty singer is in The Kills now. Go listen to some real Utah county rock like Neon Trees you fuckin provo posers.

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Guy Mariano

Yeah, I don't know why everyone is ripping on this review? Crumpler sounded exaclty like Blink 182 since they have songs that bottomed out around climaxes like a sled in the mall after the last escalator stair. Everytime I heard Blink 182, that's pretty much what was going through my mind and heart. Great name though, Crumpler.

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Neon Trees

See what I wrote was this, which I thought was pretty funny... "A Sled In The Mall After The Last Escalator Stair" could be the name of Little Bradley's next New York Times Best Seller. Boo Yeah! Then my friend wrote something like this... Yeah, it could be the memoirs of a tiny, small town, utah county boy, trying to make it in the not so underground writing scene of Salt Lake City - The Biggest City in the World! Which he considered to be a good subtitle to the title I proposed. And I concur. Us - 2, Little Bradly - 0.

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Tree On Knees

Yeah, that's right. Thanks for reposting our jokes, Neon Trees. I guess they deleted them for being misogynistic and sexist. And for hurting the feelings of a child writer trying to make it in Salt Lake City - The Biggest City in the Whole World.

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Tree On Knees

Oh, and I said that little Bradley was on his way to meet Oprah. That was a very witty comment they erased.

Posted on December 15, 2009 by crumpler

official crumpler message board

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Bryan

Neon Trees is right, that is a good book title.

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Dude

wait why do they keep deleting the comments?

Posted on February 1, 2010 by jut

Just wanted to let all you Crumplestiltskins know there's another Crumpler show at Kilby Court this Thursday. Bring your sleds!

 

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