boston progress radio

Happy New Year! I think that 2008 will be an exciting one for Boston Progress and Boston Progress Radio. As always there will be the open mic, but hopefully, there will be fresh new things happening too. Before we move forward to 2008, let me bring you back to the second half of 2007. You can read about the first half here.

July

A lazy month in Boston, July brought to East Meets Words the spoken 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 being an Asian American woman. Since I’m not a woman, listening to their point of view is character-building and educational.

August

The feature for August was the talented musician Melissa Li. Her most recent claim to fame was writing the musical “Surviving the Nian” [read Giles’ review], which I also got to see when it played at The Theater Offensive. I also found that she’s a pretty good teacher. The day after the open mic, she taught this musical dunce how to compose music with GarageBand.

Prior to the August EMW, I traveled to the Big Apple to attend the 2007 APIA Spoken Word & Poetry Summit. Surrounded by so many amazing spoken word artists, musicians, and performers, I felt like it was 1995 and I was back in Taiwan’s Shìlín Yèshì (Shilin Night Market) surrounded by amazing and cheap Taiwanese food, drinking and dancing the night away. Okay, that’s only a half-truth. Of course, I also had a chance to explore parts of New York I had never seen and spend time with people I care about.

The last time I was in New York City to visit was 1996. I was pretty much a wide-eyed tourist. Traveling with a friend from Taiwan, we hit almost all the major tourist sites: the Empire State Building, the MOMA, and the Statue of Liberty. The highlight though was watching #2 seed Michael Chang, perhaps the hardest working man in professional tennis, at the U.S. Open in Flushings “Xiao Taipei”, NY. Not only does he have amazing stamina—if he can do that on the tennis court, imagine what else he can do—but I believe he is the highest ranked Asian American male tennis player ever. And the youngest player ever (at age 17 years and 3 months) to win the French Open. And because of that, I liked him. Yeah, I like supporting Asian American athletes too.

At the end of August, Sahra Nguyen put on an exhibit entitled “Limited Edition City,” which I think is now hanging up in the Asian American urban clothing store, The Re-Up. (That’s her art up in the banner, by the way.)

September

And in September, Kit Yan rocked the open mic. And he’s a great person to talk to. And he and Melissa Li are going on the Good Asian Drivers Tour covering a million cities in a billion states. We’ve all heard the stereotypes about Asian drivers. Well, it isn’t true—Asian Americans can be good drivers. Unfortunately, I do nothing to break down that stereotype since I’m a terrible driver. It is not my fault, I have bad eyes.

October

Alicia Keys has nothing on Justine Ok who did a heartfelt, soul-baring cover of “If I Ain’t Got You” at the EMW open mic. I think I almost shed a tear when she sang that song. Cause I’m a real sap. I hope everybody finds somebody who means more to them than any diamond rings, Prada purses, iPhones, Lacoste polo shirts, bespoke shoes, Hugo Boss suits… I could go on. But I think you know what I mean. You know, somebody who loves you no matter what you have or don’t have. Someone who loves everything about you, from the dimple in your chin to the crazyirrational things that you do to the keloid scars left behind by old piercings to the insecure things that you say because you’re afraid.

Did I mention that October was a busy month? Before the open mic, Boston Progress put up an art exhibit featuring art by Wen-ti Tsen and Vi Tri Quach, entitled “ME/WE” in collaboration with the Chinese Progressive Association in Chinatown. Good stuff to look at. Boston Progress also ran a workshop at BASIC about using art as a vehicle for social change and activism. I had fun and I hope the college students got something out of it. Later that same day, I went to see the thought-provoking and educational two-person play Refugee Nation written and performed by Ova Saopeng and Leilani Chan. It taught me something about the role Laos played in the Vietnam War and something about the Laotian immigrant population in the United States. I think the play is going to be in Lowell, MA in February, so if you can get out there, you should definitely check it out. Actually, I heard that the play now involves three people.

November

Boston Progress had a pretty busy month in November too. Omar stopped by and told us about his summer vacation. I don’t think I ever want to have the kind of summer vacation he had. Never ever. The D.C. band, Exit Clov, also rolled through and played in an intimate setting at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Don’t tell anyone, but I <3 the Hsu sisters. My stomach gets all congee-like inside and my knees become tofu when I talk to them. And it’s not just because I’m a sucker for cute Asian American ladies, but also because they have a fire and passion for what they do, they gave me a discount for buying all their CDs, they’re self-proclaimed nerds, and they make catchy pop.

December

To close off the year, Jinah Kim, a singer-songwriter from Tufts University by way of Los Angeles, California, came and featured at EMW in December. Her acoustic set was a warm way to end a great year for Boston Progress Arts Collective.

Attending and helping out at these events got me asking myself: What is my community? People often ask me about where I’m from and I never know how to answer. Besides wanting to know my ethnicity (which is still very annoying), people want to know where I grew up. The question vexes me a tad because I have lived in several places, but I have a hard time calling any of them home. For me, home is where I find friends and family. In the Year 2007, I found a home in Boston Progress. I’m really looking forward to 2008; I hear Bao Li and Giles Phi are going on tour.

[Editor's Note: If you're looking to connect with the Boston Progress Arts Collective or think you'd be a good addition to our crew here are Boston Progress Radio, please contact us at info@bprlive.org. Happy New Year!]

Last 5 posts by eugene

• East Meets Words featuring Edward Bok Lee - August 1st, 2008
• Asian Americans and Mental Health - July 22nd, 2008
• Be Like Water - July 21st, 2008
• Two Warriors Bring Peace and Love to East Meets Words - July 18th, 2008
• 99 Ranch, Super 88, H-Mart, ... - July 14th, 2008

Tags: Boston Progress, Commentary, Open Mic, Reviews, Year In Review.