The New Pornographers @Battery Park, July 4th

Just like last year's 4th of July celebration with Belle & Sebastian, I wanted this year to be another fun gathering of friends, food and fireworks. We were almost thirty people strong, mostly from two of my worlds, concerts and kung fu. A bunch of us got there earlier to secure some prime real estate in front of the stage, and we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon only slightly marred by rain.

This was my third time seeing The New Pornographers -- I saw them two years ago with The Sadies and Stars at Prospect Park, and last year at the Nokia Theater opening for Belle & Sebastian. They play solid power pop that is ideal for an outdoor crowd -- you needn't be hugely familiar with their accessible music to have a good time. They maintain an energy that is upbeat and reminds me of The Cars at times. I thought the sound where we were was a little muddy, but at least we had a great view of Carl Newman and Neko Case and their flaming red hair:

(Kathryn Calder kinda has red hair too, I think!)
The New Pornos entertained us with a good mix of the old -- a lot from their last smashing success, Twin Cinema -- and some new from their upcoming release, Challengers. I particularly liked "The Bleeding Heart Show" with its chorus of Hey Las.

After the show, we lost a few and then ambled our way to a bar for a stretch, and then headed to the FDR Drive for the fireworks spectacular. At that point, it was raining harder and we were feeling chilly, but it was all good times. Hooray!