Here in Boston, it is, of course, a big deal. There are picnics and cookouts, but the whole city comes to a standstill at about 7 PM. The Boston Pops Orchestra (the popular music ensemble of the Boston Symphony Orchestra - led by the ever HOT Maestro Keith Lockhart) holds a concert on an enormous outdoor soundstage. When the weather is nice, like it is today (and even when it rains), a couple hundred thousand people will converge on the Esplanade, line the banks of the Charles River, or find the highest vantage point they can to listen and watch. There's a concert with a headliner (this years it's John Mellencamp
- I would LOVE to see Scott do this concert, as it would be right up his alley) and lots of American-themed and American-written music. When John Williams was the Maestro, they used to perform a lot of his movie themes, like Star Wars and E.T.
The highlight is the 1812 Overture, of all things, which has nothing at all to do with America or the Revolutionary War. But the cool thing is that, at the end of the overture, with all the booms, they use real cannon, fired by the National Guard. I'm not sure if they still do this as well, but they used to ring the huge bells on the Old South Church (not the Paul Revere one) during the climax of the piece, too. They may be too fragile to use nowadays, but back in the day, the real cannon and real church bells sounded amazing. (They have special conductors who communicate by walkie-talkie to make sure the cannon come in on time with the music.) Then there's a 30 minute fireworks show set to music.
As I said, it's a huge deal here in Boston, where the Revolution started, and people come from all over the world to attend.
Here's a sample. It's okay to roll your eyes, but remember, you asked, Bexter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD_WcqmQBZU