Mystic Nights

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• September 5, 2026

One of the absolute joys of life is dancing to live music. It is usually a mission of mine to see a certain amount of rock and roll shows or cover bands where I get have a few drinks and let loose. Some of the best memories of my life are on dance floors or jumping up and down at a concert. For me, I usually need a couple drinks to get grooving, but my mom loves dancing so much she’ll be all alone in front of the band dancing, completely sober. It is one of her more admirable traits, but perhaps a little insane in the best way.

Dancing with mom at shows is my favorite. Dad will also get goofy on the dance floor, which is more than most men would do, too afraid to look foolish. We embrace the silliness. After all, no one really cares. The band wants you to dance no matter how poorly, and the people having the most fun are willing all of life in that moment.

The Salt Shack at Cedar Beach out on Long Island has lots of bands and cover bands throughout the summer. Right on the ocean, it’s a sweet spot and some of the bands are really great. The shows are free! Recently, I went with my parents and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Keith to see a band called “The Mystic” that plays 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. Aunt Nancy is a big fan of “The Mystic” and they did not disappoint. They are a full band with a female and male vocalist and three brass players (I love me some brass bros). This band draws a bit of an older crowd (my parents age), which doesn’t bother me in the least, but it did mean I had eyes on me of lingering divorced men.

This one much older guy was hovering around my mom and I, and my father, a jealous type, at first thought he was checking out my mom and got defensive. Both my mom and I were like, “yeah, no he’s after your daughter, not mom.” He thought for a second and then asked, “why do you think he’s after you?” “Look around,” I said, “I’m the youngest girl here,” which also, to men (I’m not as ageist as men are) means I’m likely the most attractive person there (not meant to be a brag). The guy eventually approached us, chatting us up, saying he thought it was “cool” I was hanging out with my folks and aunt and uncle. He had guessed I was 23 years old (which makes him more creepy?) and starting saying things I forgot to try to impress me. He wasn’t the only guy lingering around us as I had to dance between my parents and aunt and uncle as barriers. Still, it was a great time and I highly recommend seeing shows there.

On the car ride home, my dad goes, “I guess that place attracts a bunch of creeps.” At this, I laughed. There are creeps everywhere (I actually have a bit about how all men are creepy and women are creepy too but in a more caring way). Every woman knows, the pretty ones even more so, that we have to walk around with walls up, careful who you offer an innocent smile to. Because women will smile just to smile. Or dance just to dance. Men have agendas. I don’t even say that with negativity, it’s just a mere reality.

It’s long been a trope that comedians want to be rock stars and musicians want to be comedians. I can attest that is true that most comedians would rather be rock stars, but I cannot say whether or not the opposite is true. Music is the most fun of the arts. And ethereal— like it connects to the spirit or Gods. It transcends us. No wonder it’s musicians who get all the girls (or guys). I have frequently fallen for a musician (who are nearly as crazy as comedians and in recent years I’ve decided I need a more normal guy and I can be the creative weirdo).

It’s such a blessing to come from a family that loves music and the arts in general. In way, it’s what doomed me to be a tortured writer but it’s such an intrinsic part of my identity it’s impossible to imagine myself any other way. Not many boomer parents actually listen to anything beyond classic rock, and my parents are hip enough that they listen to new music that even people my age have never heard of. My mom’s version of heaven is a dance floor playing good music where all her family is there. Her husband, children, siblings, in laws, nieces and nephews. We’ve had many of these moments at block parties of yesteryear’s, weddings and random concerts. And you know what? That’s one of my versions of heaven too.

At the end of my parents two month trip to New York, I found myself more than misty eyed on a run around Astoria Park where I live listening to a song that triggered a deep kind of longing for my parents and especially the bond I have with my mom that is solidified in the music of life. Mystic nights transition to hectic days, and fond memories make us yearn for more moments where we are under the brilliant sky, a cold drink in hand, songs that lift your soul, surrounded by your favorite people.

[Mom, me, Aunt Nancy]

[Aunt Nancy and Uncle Keith, grooving]