East Meets Words Open Mic: Yellow Rage
It was that time of the month again at the East Meets West Bookstore and this month’s East Meets Words Open Mic series featured the dynamic duo of Michelle and Catzie, also known as Yellow Rage. Based in Philadelphia, they are Asian American female spoken word poets who have appeared in the nationally recognized show Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on HBO. Before we got to the main attraction, the Open Mic segment featured some familiar faces as well as some new faces. Following tradition, Vinh started off the show by experimenting with a new style of writing that he inherited in New York. Following Vinh was Scott Cahalane who recalled his first kiss and took the audience back to when they had their first kiss. Theresa and Tara each read a piece that they wrote when they were traveling. Theresa’s piece was about her journey on the bus to Atlanta and Tara’s piece was about her journey home to Boston. Other performers include Mike Keo and Pedro but the Open Mic segment concluded with Giles Li who performed a song that he wrote that day while waiting for the cable guy to finish installing his cable.
As mentioned before, the main attraction this month was Yellow Rage. The set was split in sections in which the two would perform as a group then split and perform solo. The duo kicked off the show with an explosive piece called “Asshole,” followed by a piece called “Chinky.” The solo segement began when Michelle performed “Notes from the Underground,” a piece written in memory of Vincent Chin. Catzie then took the stage with a piece called “You Bring Out the Laos in the House” which was inspired by Bao Phi’s “You Bring Out the Vietnamese in Me.” The two got back together and performed a piece called “Their Hands are Never Clean” which brought up the issue of child slavery. Then the duo split once again and Michelle performed “Ancestor Worship” while Catzie performed “Deep Love Poem,” “Spoiled,” and “Ashame.” The show concluded when the duo perform “A Little Too Much” and “I’m a Woman not a Flava.”
From the first piece to the last, Yellow Rage performed with passion and attitude and together they were unstoppable. I was in awe throughoutthe whole performance and I just want to leave with this thought. I have gone to the past three Open Mic shows and every month just gets better and better. This month was just simply amazing and I can’t wait till next month.
Last 5 posts by long
- East Meets Words: Ms. Conchita Campos - May 14th, 2008
- L.I.F.E at East Meets Words - April 16th, 2008
- Happy Birthday East Meets Words - March 25th, 2008
- You Have Your Heroes, I Have Mine - March 11th, 2008
- Cynthia Lin under the Microscope - January 16th, 2008
this summer’s open mics have been dope. bao phi in may, ishle in june, yellow rage in july. shoot, we’re next level.
Stay tuned for an interview with Yellow Rage right here on BPR.
[...] Yellow Rage came to feature at the East Meets West Bookstore in July, we recorded the entire open mic. It took me awhile, but I’ve finally managed to listen to it and snip it up into three thirty [...]
[...] word performers, Catzie and Michelle of Yellow Rage, who are less angry as interviewees than as performers. I was happy to be in the audience when they featured because they offer a good perspective on [...]