EASHA, SeoulFly, and More Performing at Stanford House Show “Lover’s Rock!”

by Sydney Ling || photographed on Feb 11, 2022

additional reporting by Yastika Guru

Stanford students donning pink heart-shaped sunglasses moved around the dorm as they tested the mic setup, bathed in fuschia light. Flyers with "Lover's Rock!" printed in a retro, pink and dark blue design dotted the walls and benches. Featuring bedroom pop EASHA, indie alternative eisenach, hip hop SeoulFly, and retro The House Band, all comprised of Stanford students, last Friday night's "Lover's Rock!" was my first time attending a concert, let alone photographing one.

Student testing the mic pre-show

Jonathan Lee of SeoulFly setting up pre-show

As I waited for the show to begin, Stanford Daily reporter sophomore Yastika Guru and I ventured to talk with the artists. "It's going to be a little mix of everything... some sad, some angry," EASHA said. I had come to the show after finding out about it through EASHA's Instagram, having previously listened to the New Jersey-born artist's dreamy, nostalgic tracks through Spotify's eclectic Lorem playlist.

People started trickling in, and fellow students formed a gaggle around EASHA and the other artists.

"I was just listening to you on the way here!" one girl exclaimed.

EASHA radiated a bright, warm energy, thanking everyone as they showered her with glowing compliments. She performed first, from the poetic ballad "Dying is a Beautiful Thing to Do" to the crisp "Manic Pixie Dream Girl." With a clean, refreshing presence, EASHA smoothly charmed the audience as she introduced each song with bits like "You know when you're really really sad about a guy that's not even that great?" or "I wrote this song when I was just so angry at everything." When her performance ended, she joined the front of the crowd, cheering for the following act.

Next, eisenach presented a set of punchy indie tracks, looking like a 70s movie character with yellow heart-shaped sunglasses, mustache, and striped collared shirt. The crowd jumped up and down, swallowing everyone in a fever dream of sweltering excitement. Sweat started beading on eisenach as he downed the last drops of an almost empty giant jug of water. Near me, EASHA leaned over and asked me, "Are you doing okay?" I nodded, beaming under my sticky mask.

The crowd surged forward, nearly flooding the stage as the third act, duo SeoulFly comprised of Jonathan Lee and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student TJ Byun, stepped onto the platform. With lyrics like "You making this rapper feel more like a poet" and "We walked through the silent streets/ Last Tuesday at three," SeoulFly lighted a fast-paced fire through their sound which they categorized as "pop and a little bit of melodic hip-hop... super upbeat, and insanely energetic."

Both originally from Chicago, the night would be the two's first time performing live together after starting in the summer of 2019. Looking forward to building more chemistry as a duo through shows, Byun said that "There's only so much satisfaction you can get from seeing the stream numbers go up. It's a completely different animal to perform live. The energy is unlike anything else." Lee agreed, expressing, "I'm a pretty mellow person, and I've become the most alive when I perform."

EASHA echoed the sentiment about returning to in-person shows. "I haven't performed live since before the pandemic, so there's some anxiety surrounding it because you forget what it's even like," she said. "Once you get into it, though, you remember the parts of it you love: the interactiveness and the spontaneity. You practice a lot, but the best parts of the show are the parts you don't predict, off-the-cuff things you say or try out."

The spirit of explosive unpredictability was embodied by the House Band in the final act of the night. Fronted by Cat Rian Davis dressed in an orange top, dangling pink heart earrings, and flared pink pants belted with a rhinestone-studded belt, the band performed covers of tracks ranging from Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" to Taylor Swift's "Love Story." Cat serenaded in a honeyed voice, while bassist Allen Zhu and guitarist Jonathon Weiss executed exhilarating riffs, with Bradley Immel on keyboard and percussionist Callum Burgess on drums. As the crowd cheered for more, the ever-magnetic Cat announced over the fervor, "Just a warning -- my hair gets really poofy when it's hot, so I'll start looking like Hagrid if that's alright with you." Halfway through the band's performance, eisenach came onto the stage again to perform a blush-warm cover of Tennessee Whiskey alongside Cat. During through a cover of “Dancing in the Moonlight,” the previously hot pink lights flashed into yellow, green, blue, red, and purple, dousing the crowd in a prismatic glow.

As the clock neared midnight, I reluctantly navigated my way backstage to collect my camera bag. When I left the building into the sweet night air, students were still lining up to enter the dorm, with posters scattered around the entrance. As I closed my eyes, I could feel the heat of students and strangers dancing together, from one girl with Euphoria-like rhinestone eyeshadow dreamily swaying to the music, to a couple leaning against each other in an intimate moment. Love was in the air - love for significant others, love for friends, love for music. 

Pictured: Bassist Allen Zhu

Pictured: Front singer Cat Rian Davis