Antonio Sanchez and Migration, and... Periscope.

July 03, 2015

Antonio Sanchez and Migration, and... Periscope.

The Dimitriou's Jazz Alley has been one of my favorite places to enjoy artists from all around the globe. And when they bring Latino artists you bet I am going to be there.

Last Tuesday, June 30th of 2015, Jazz Alley brought the four times Grammy Award winner Antonio Sanchez. Also known as the drummer who composed, and played, the entire soundtrack for the movie Birdman. You remember that movie right? The Academy Award Winner for Best Picture? So, imagine my excitement when I found out about this concert!

The night was fantastic. We (Miguel, my granddaughter Andrea, ad I) enjoyed some food, drinks, desserts, and the fabulous sounds of Antonio Sanchez on drums with his band Migration. They performed their entire 2015 album, Meridian Suite.

I was so excited that I wanted to share these sounds with some of my social media friends. That's when I went ahead and decided to use Periscope. In my head, the idea was perfect. I walked to the back of the room to have a better view, and I though: "I will stream the last song of the show with Periscope, and then I will connect again after the concert is done."

What was I thinking? It was a not very successful attempt since the room was extremely dark!

The camera phone was having a hard time focusing so, after a couple of minutes I decided to stop, and went back to my table to continue enjoying their performance.

At the end of the concert, we went to the green room. Miguel knocked at the door and.... ta-da! There they were!

Antonio was extremely nice, and kind when I asked whether it would be okay to take some pictures with him. ¡Pero claro! (Of course!) - he said. And after those words, we switched to speak only in Spanish. That was refreshing!

He asked my granddaughter if she were studying music, and he told her that we need more Latinos representing everywhere. To which I responded: YEAH! That's one of the many reasons why I take Andrea to so many places to meet successful Latinos. She needs to see them, and know that we Latinos are so much more than what the media says we are.

Once outside the restaurant, I went ahead and started using Periscope again. It was a little odd to talk to the phone without having someone answering right away. I liked it though. And I now regret not having the audacity to live stream our conversation with Antonio too.

Maybe I will do it for the next concert. Or maybe not. It's a work in progress because after all, it's all about feeling confident in getting out of my comfort zone.