Eliza Rhee

This Thursday, Jack Magee’s Pub swapped trivia night for something a little louder: Portland-based pop-punk band Weakened Friends. Headlining WBOR’s second concert of the semester, the trio’s sound was punctuated by angsty guitar riffs, a noisy rhythm section, and lyrics interested in longing, self-worth and the music industry itself.

On the heels of rapper Cochise’s concert last Friday, Weakened Friends offered an alternative sound. In fact, bringing in more live music, especially groups from a range of musical genres, is one of WBOR’s primary goals for this year.

“Something that we’ve really been talking about a lot is how we want WBOR to be present on campus,” WBOR officer Emma Olney ’25 said. “In the past, it’s definitely been more of an independent thing where people can be DJs and bring their friends into the studio, but now we’re trying to coordinate more with Student Activities to increase our presence on campus, make it more integrated.”

When WBOR officer Jackie Seddon ’23, who spearheaded recruitment, set out to find a band for the station, she was focused on two things: finding a local group and bringing a more high-energy, rock sound to campus. When Seddon stumbled upon Weakened Friends, not only did the band hit both of these metrics, but they satisfied some of her personal tastes as well.

“I really love pop-punk music, and they’re doing a lot of that. It’s very Paramore-esque, and they have female vocalists, which I love. I think that’s what led me to recruit them specifically, and they have a really great sound in general,” Seddon said.

Genre variation was a goal of WBOR’s, as was using the pub’s space as a venue.

“Sometimes, the bands that come to the Portland State Theatre are really good, but I haven’t seen a bunch of punk bands playing there, so I’m excited to just go to the pub and see them,” Olney said. “I’m also excited to see the pub being used as a concert space. I think that’s kind of new, and everyone’s trying to revitalize the pub after Covid[-19], so I’m excited to do that.”

Held down by lead vocalist and guitarist Sonia Sturino, Weakened Friends supercharged the pub with a raucous energy; students ricocheted off one another in the middle of the mosh pit while others bowed down before Sturino’s noisy licks and bassist Annie Hoffman’s steady lines.

“I was really impressed with the wall of sound they were able to create with just three members,” Zach Leibowitz ’24 said. “It was cool how much sonic space they were able to fill.”

Ellie Huntington ’24 summed it up best.

“It was really fun. People were dancing. It was really loud,” she said.