Music / “Be here at 1:45 so we can leave by 2,” says GRLFRNDS drummer Nate McCurdy. “We need to be there by 3pm. to set up and sound check.” I’m not sure which is more impressive: the band’s punctuality, or the fact that they have a sound check for an all-ages punk show at Haleiwa Gym. I arrive at 1:50pm and they’re waiting for me in the driveway.

In the car bound for Haleiwa with vocalist Alex Kaiser and guitarist Nick Ross, I’m wondering how a young, punk audience is going to react to the GRLFRNDS’ music, which is decidedly not punk, but sprouts from the same charred, crackling, seed that was accidentally rolled into music’s burning doobie. But then, the guys from GRLFRNDS grew up going to shows just like the one they’re about to play; so it’s not like they’ll be out of their element.

“Nate, Jake and I met at Mid-Pac, where we were all kicked out,” says Kaiser. “Then I met Nick at Kalani. We had similar interests in indie rock and foreign films–and I think in a lot of ways we’d fit on the mainland, but none of us got our shit together to leave.”

As we pull into the dirt parking lot at 3pm, a man in his 50s rushes to greet us–it’s promoter Richard Nolan. A few minutes later, drummer McCurdy arrives. The sound guy isn’t here yet. Neither are the seven other bands that are slated to play. Before long, synth player Jake Achitoff shows up. Hands tucked into his velvet blazer, Achitoff heads toward us with the kind of strut you don’t see a lot of in Haleiwa–let alone from someone who just hopped off a bus from Punaluu, where the band practices. Watching them interact, it’s obvious they have all been playing music together longer than six months. They’ve been playing in different bands since 2005, but came together as Girlfriends in June (the moniker GRLFRNDS is a recent change).

“Where are all the kids?” Alex asks the group. “When we were kids, we were at the venue hours before a show just lurking around.”

It’s 5pm, which means it’s showtime, though it doesn’t feel like it. The band heads in for a late sound check, and I hang back to chat with Nolan, who, in a thick Boston accent, tells me he comes to Hawaii about twice a year to put on shows. So far, this one looks like it might not materialize at all.

It’s now 6pm, and still no bands have arrived. As it turns out, two bands have canceled due to band members having to work. At this point, GRLFRNDS are just waiting for their time slot, which is two hours away. Fueled by boredom, Kaiser and Achitoff walk into the gym, a large empty basketball court with a stage set under the hoop. The smell of old wood and mold reminds me that this venue is 75 years old. The room feels like a forgotten high school dance more than a show; empty chairs on each side of the gym, awkward boys milling about, expressionless.

A couple of kids catch sight of Kaiser and Achitoff and shout, “EMO IS DEAD!”

“That was awesome,” Kaiser says cracking up as they walk back outside. They know they aren’t an emo band. They see themselves as “punks taking over the dance floor.” Their influences include bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and Joy Division, which show in their minimalist sound.

Finally, it’s 7:30, and as the first band begins to play, we gather inside to watch. There are about 20 kids, none of whom are older than 17 and most of whom are members of the bands scheduled to play. Dressed like average skate rats, they sit on the floor, waiting for something to happen, playfully punching each other and forcing out curse words that seem out of place. Being in their 20s, GRLFRNDS seem like veterans compared to these other bands. I’d been told that hundreds of kids show up to these Haleiwa Gym Shows–this is the eighth in a series–and there aren’t even dozens here now. Where is everyone?

“I think there’s just been a technological shift and Hawaii hasn’t caught up yet,” says Kaiser. “Kids are listening to more music than ever, but they’re listening on their iPods and cell phones. Everyone’s connected but nobody is motivated to go to shows like when that was the only way to get exposed to new music.”

“Were shows ever really about the music?” counters Achitoff. “Maybe kids just have better things to do these days.”

As the second band takes the stage, the gym is still mostly empty, but GRLFRNDS don’t really seem to care. This is a bit of a change of pace from some of the huge audiences that they have played before in the past six months, including a sold-out crowd at Pipeline before the Modest Mouse show in late summer.

At 8:30, they take the stage before a crowd of barely a dozen onlookers. I don’t know if it’s all the Mike’s Harder Lemonade they drank or the pent up energy from sitting around for more than five hours, but GRLFRNDS play to this empty gymnasium like it’s the Troubadour. I never got to see how punk kids would react to their music and we never found out why nobody showed up that night. The band didn’t seem to care either way. GRLFRNDS are just doing what they feel driven to do.

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