this week in music

MACY’S FOURTH OF JULY FIREWORKS: AMERICAN HARMONY

Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks will be held on the West Side again this year (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Televised live on NBC-TV
Broadcast live on WINS 1010
Sunday, July 4, free, 9:20 pm (approx.)
212-494-4495
www.macys.com/fireworks

After last year’s move to the West Side in honor of the four hundredth anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the Hudson River, Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks will stay on the Hudson for 2010, ready to set off more than forty thousand shells from a half dozen barges located between Twenty-fourth and Fiftieth Sts. over the course of twenty-six minutes. The theme of the thirty-fourth annual display is “American Harmony,” with a score performed by the New York Pops, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Straight No Chaser, Broadway Inspirational Voices, and the U.S. Army Soldier’s Chorus, with Justin Bieber and others scheduled to sing live on the Norwegian Epic cruise ship. The score can be downloaded here so you can listen along as the shells light up the sky. Vehicular traffic will be closed on the West Side Highway between Twenty-second and Fifty-ninth Sts. on Twelfth Ave., with viewing spots not available along the Hudson River Park promenade and bike path, and there will be extremely limited access to Piers 54 and 84.

Reaching a thousand feet high, this year’s fireworks, presented by SOUSA, will include blue jellyfish and the return of the ghost shells as well as an expanded version of the Golden Mile. Look for whistling dragons and screaming cicadas during “Stars & Stripes Forever,” silver domes, patriotic comets and daffodils and a cascading silver wall during “God Bless America,” rainbow fans and interlocking rings with sparkling centers during “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” chrysanthemum bursts, red umbrellas, geometric patterned loops, glittering coconuts, crackling salutes, spiders, and titanium crackers comets during the Armed Forces Medley, smiling faces and swimming bees during “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy,” green glimmer strobes and mosaic patterns during “Summertime,” rolling dice and cube shells during “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In,” fish, fireflies, and a red sparkling mile during “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and floral reports, bright lightning, titanium salutes, and more during the grand finale National Anthem.

DAN ZANES JAM & JUBILEE



BROADWAY2BATTERY: THE BATTERY 4th OF JULY CONCERT AND FAMILY FESTIVAL
Battery Park
State St. & Battery Pl.
Sunday, July 4, free, 2:00
www.rivertorivernyc.com
www.danzanes.com

One of the leaders of 1980s alternative band the Del Fuegos, Dan Zanes has found a second career playing music for kids in his group Dan Zanes and Friends. His latest album, 76 TROMBONES (Festival Five, November 2009), consists of Broadway songs owned by Paul McCartney, including “Hello, Dolly,” “I Can Do That,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and the title track. Zanes has earned the coveted spot of headlining the annual July 4 concert in Battery Park, which in recent years has gone to Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Dr. John, and the New Pornographers. Zanes will be joined downtown by such friends as Stew (PASSING STRANGE), Caridad De La Luz (La Bruja), and Joan Osborne, with La Cumbiamba eNeYe starting the party at 2:00. There will also be jugglers, stilt walkers, and other buskers as well as a parade of seventy-six trombones that anyone can join, so bring your instrument if you want to march.

TEXAS ON TOUR: THE OLD 97’s

The Old 97’s will celebrate the Fourth by bringing a little bit of Texas to the South Street Seaport

Pier 17, South Street Seaport
Sunday, July 4, free, 7:00
www.southstreetseaport.com
www.old97s.com

As part of the continuing Texas on Tour series at the South Street Seaport, which began July 1 and continues through July 5, alt country favorites the Old 97’s will be playing a free show on July 4 at 7:00. Led by singer-songwriter Rhett Miller, the Old 97’s will be featuring songs from their most recent album, 2008’s BLAME IT ON GRAVITY, while selling the new MIMEOGRAPH, a four-song EP with live covers of the Stones’ “Rocks Off,” the Fratellis’ “For the Girl,” REM’s “Driver 8,” and David Bowie’s “Five Years.” The band is also offering a free download of three other live songs if you friend them on Facebook, the old “St. Ignatius,” “Victoria,” and “4 Leaf Clover.”

GONE TO GOVERNORS: SHE & HIM / OAKLEY HALL

The humble M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel won’t be taking a car to their free July 4 show on Governors Island

The Beach at Governors Island
Free ferry from Battery Maritime Building
Sunday, July 4, free, 4:00
www.watertaxibeach.com
www.myspace.com/sheandhim

In 2008, actress Zooey Deschanel and musician M. Ward dazzled the music world with the release of their utterly charming, irresistible album VOLUME ONE, a collection of bright, cheerful 1960s-sounding songs with lilting melodies and infectious choruses. Deschanel handled the songwriting and lead vocals, while Ward took care of the production and arrangements and added lovely harmony. Earlier this year they released VOLUME TWO (Merge, March 2010), another endearing set of of original songs along with two covers, NRBQ’s “Riding in My Car” and Skeeter Davis’s “Gonna Get Along Without You Now.” New Yorkers who were shut out of She & Him’s sold-out July 6 show at Terminal 5 don’t have to get along without them, as Ward and Deschanel will be headlining a free July 4 concert at Water Taxi Beach on Governors Island, playing with the World Famous Headliner, DJ Todd-o-phonic Todd, and Brooklyn favorites Oakley Hall.

Zooey Deschanel leads She & Him through a heartfelt set on July 4 at Governors Island (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: It might have been very hot on Water Taxi Beach on Governor’s Island, but the free show featuring Oakley Hall and She & Him couldn’t have been much cooler. First up was Brooklyn psych country folksters Oakley Hall, who jammed out on such tunes as “If I Was in El Dorado,” “Color the Shade,” and “Year of Infinity Man” before closing out with a passionate version of Humble Pie’s “Thirty Days in the Hole.” After a way-too-long break in which vendors were dousing the front of the crowd with ice cubes and cold water, M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel took the stage, backed by the World Famous Headliners, traveling through most of the songs from She & Him’s two delightful records, the smartly titled VOLUME 1 and VOLUME 2. Deschanel sang lead vocals, often jumping up and down, banging her tambourine, then taking a turn at the piano and playing the ukulele, while Ward kept things groovin’ on lead guitar and harmonies, sending out a glittering mix of originals and covers based in 1960s pop. False information about the last free ferry back to Manhattan had many fans running to the docks as the band came out for an encore of “Roll Over Beethoven,” which was unfortunate, but it still was a great way to celebrate the Fourth and get ready for the fireworks. (You can find our slideshow of Oakley Hall here and She & Him here.)

INTERNATIONAL HOT DOG EATING CONTEST

Joey Chestnut will go for a fourth straight title on July 4 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Sweikert Alley, Nathan’s Famous
1310 Surf Ave. at Stillwell Ave.
Sunday, July 4, free, 12 noon
Admission: free
212-627-5766
www.nathansfamous.com
www.ifoce.com

Since 1916, Nathan’s has been sponsoring a hot dog eating contest in which men and women from all over the world compete to see who can devour the most hot dogs (and buns) in twelve minutes, now reduced to ten. Each contestant has his or her own method; some dunk the bread in water before swallowing, while others just stuff the slimy dogs down their throats. After six years of dominance by Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut has come up big the last three years, setting a new world record of sixty-eight dogs in 2009, keeping the Coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt where it belongs. (Chestnut has also held records in asparagus, chicken wings, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyoza, horseshoe sandwiches, jalapeno poppers, Krystal Burgers, Pizza Hut P’Zones, pork ribs, pulled pork, and sausage and cheese Kolaches.) Unfortunately, Kobayashi has pulled out of this year’s event, bringing to an end this heated annual rivalry. The festivities begin at 10:00 with a performance by Xclusive with Sonni Dey and DJ 80HD, followed by acrobats, magic acts, trampoline performers, and rapper (and longtime contest participant) Eric “Badlands” Booker, with the competition set to start at noon.

ROSANNE CASH

New Yorker Rosanne Cash will be playing free July 4 concert on Governors Island

Governors Island
Free ferry from Battery Maritime Building
Sunday, July 4, free, 2:00
www.trinitywallstreet.org
www.rosannecash.com

Great live music on the Fourth of July is a tradition in New York City. Some of the best free concerts of the last twenty years have taken place on Independence Day, from Yo La Tengo and Dr. John in Battery Park to Sonic Youth and the Sun Ra Arkestra at SummerStage to many, many more. This year’s musical festivities include the one and only Rosanne Cash, who will be playing on Governors Island in a free show sponsored by Trinity Wall Street. Last year Cash followed up her emotional tribute to her late father, 2006’s outstanding BLACK CADILLAC, with THE LIST, an album of classic country, folk, and blues taken from a list of one hundred American songs Johnny had given to her when she was eighteen. She brought in such friends as Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jeffy Tweedy, and Rufus Wainwright to help out on such songs as “Sea of Heartbreak,” “Heartaches by the Numbers,” “Long Black Veil,” and “Silver Wings,” in addition to eight other tunes, including “Motherless Children” and “Girl from the North Country.” She’s a terrific live performer who does not play in the city very often; we caught her at SummerStage a bunch of years ago and she was just beautiful. Cash will also be playing a sold-out show with Steve Earle and Allison Moorer at City Winery on July 8, and she will be releasing her memoir, COMPOSED, on August 10.

Rosanne Cash lets it all out at July Fourth gig on Governors Island (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: Longtime New Yorker Rosanne Cash made her first-ever foray onto Governors Island on July 4, as she played a rousing set to a crowd that laid itself out in a long V to keep out of the hot sun. Cash, along with husband John Leventhal on lead guitar, John Cowherd on keyboards, Tim Luntzel on bass, Rich Hinman on guitar and keys, and Dan Rieser on drums, offered a generous, wide-ranging selections of songs from throughout her career, from “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” off her 1979 record, RIGHT OR WRONG, to 1981’s “Seven Year Ache,” to her father’s “Tennessee Flat Top Box” (which she released on 1987’s KING’S RECORD SHOP), to the title track from 1993’s THE WHEEL, to a bevy of songs from her most recent discs, the excellent BLACK CADILLAC (“Burn Down This Town,” “Dreams Are Not My Home”) and last year’s THE LIST (“Motherless Children,” “Long Black Veil,” “Girl from the North Country”), taken from a list of one hundred songs she needed to know that her father gave her on her eighteenth birthday. She added what she thinks should be song 101, getting down with a bluesy version of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” (Speaking of Billie Joe, she even threw in a verse of Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” as part of a Fourth of July medley that also included “500 Miles” and “This Land Is Your Land.”) Cash could barely wipe the smile off her face the whole time, having a blast onstage, interacting with the musicians and even dancing a bit. You can check out our concert slideshow here.

KRISTEENYOUNG

Kristeen Young and Baby Jef White will get down and dirty at the Knitting Factory on July 5

Knitting Factory Brooklyn
Monday, July 5, $10-$12, 8:00
www.myspace.com/kristeenyoung
www.bk.knittingfactory.com

KRISTEENYOUNG — consisting of the eclectic duo of Baby Jef White on drums and percussion and Kristeen Young on vocals and keyboards — are coming back to town in support of their fifth full-length, the awesomely titled MUSIC FOR STRIPPERS, HOOKERS, AND THE ODD-ONLOOKER (Test Tube Baby, September 2009). On the record, Young croons such ditties as “Son of Man,” “That’s What It Takes, Dear,” and “He’s Sickened by Crude Emotion” as if she’s a burlesque punk Kate Bush on X, with the music soaring inside out and upside down around her while her lyrics get right to the point: “My pain is more abstract,” she explains on “The Depression Contest,” continuing, “Ha, ha, ha, ha and greater than yours. My tears are more nuanced . . . Ha, ha, ha, ha and deeper than yours.” And on “I Won’t Be Home for Christmas” she sings, “I won’t be home for Christmas / I’ve got better things to do with my time.” Everything comes together for the smashing rave-up “Comfort Is Never a Goal,” which grabs you by the neck and never lets go. The band reveals some of its many influences on the CD package, which includes photos of H.R. Pufnstuf and Dorothy Parker. Plus, the whole deal was produced by the one and only Tony Visconti and features guest spots by Fall Out Boy Patrick Vaughn Stump and head Pharmacist Ted Leo, so what’s not to love? KRISTEENYOUNG will be at the Knitting Factory on July 5, on a bill with Saadi and Alyson Greenfield.