We spent the Fourth of July staggering ‘round NYC, from 6:30 in the morning (when our bus rolled into Chinatown) until 3 p.m. or so, when we hit Battery Park. We joined hundreds of others snaking through the park to catch a free show by The Feelies (who formed in '76 and haven't played together since something like '92; I guess they ran through a gig or two at Maxwell's a week or so ago to get warmed up) and Sonic Youth.

I'm going to admit that I hadn't heard of the The Feelies before, but I need to go back and check out some albums now. The band really impressed me, and though it was too bad we didn't get there in time for the whole set, the playing was tight, and belied the time spent apart.

I've always loved Sonic Youth, and they had me in ecstasy at this show. It was the first time in a while that I pretty much ignored the crowd around me (except for the guy who kept screaming "Nic Fit!"), and just basked in the skintight snakeskin dress-adorned Kim Gordon, who stole the show. She danced around with her bass, and, when she forgot the words to a song, asked her husband to please just sing, which he did. Later, some more husband/wife banter before (I think) "100 Percent": Thurston said something like "She finds me annoying."

The varied set included "Schizophrenia" (off "Sister"), and "She is Not Alone" (off 1981's self-titled album). A couple tracks from "Dirty," like "Drunken Butterfly," served as part of the cheer-and-scream-induced double encore. The energy was through the roof -- OK, the cloudy sky -- and it was the perfect send-off to a day we wrapped up by trying to find a good fireworks-watching spot. We failed, and found ourselves wearing sunglasses in the dark (something I vowed I'd never do) drinking wine beneath umbrellas in Central Park.