One glance at yesterday's Battery Park lineup locked up my July 4 plans long ago - Yo La Tengo and Stephen Malkmus are two anchors of my indie rock fandom, and a free concert with the both of them is something I'd never pass up. It also helped that Laura Cantrell was on the bill - she's one of Matador's newest signings and, being the Matadork that I am, I was looking forward to checking her out. Alas Cantrell's set got overshadowed by the general hubbub of the show, but I did enjoy what I heard. She has a nice countrified sound that I'm curious to hear more of.

Mr. Malkmus took the stage with the Jicks a few minutes after 4:20 (shocker) and launched into "Dynamic Calories" from the Pig Lib bonus disc. I loved hearing it last month at Irving Plaza and I loved hearing it again. But though that Irving show left me hungry for more old material, yesterday's setlist was just perfect with plenty of old stuff to go with the new Face the Truth tunes. The new record is certainly good but I still prefer Pig Lib, and "Do Not Feed The Oyster" and "Animal Midnight" sounded lovely yesterday. The band was in great form and very jammy, sounding relaxed and having much fun. "No More Shoes" and "Baby C'mon" were my favorite of the new songs, but "Jo Jo's Jacket" was the set highlight for me. It was the one song I missed the most at Irving Plaza - hearing it yesterday made my day.

Or, should I say, it made half my day - the other half being made when Yo La Tengo opened their set with "We're An American Band," a song that shines live but I always seem to miss. The closing guitar solo was noisier than usual (and awesome), and the set in general was louder than the past few I've seen from Yo La. I love their live shows but admit that they can struggle when the crowds get too big - intimacy goes a very long way with them, especially since they've mellowed out over the years. My favorite songs from yesterday, then, were the rockers - "Tom Courtenay," an extra droney "Big Day Coming," and a loose "Cherry Chapstick." "Cherry Chapstick" is one of only two YLT songs I've seen James McNew play drums on, and his relative inexperience shows - but it also lets the sheets of guitar noise hold the song down, and it works. My favorite song was one I didn't recognize, though - it ended their main set and was really long, with lots of melodic noise jamming. Though "noise" is all over this review, they did play some quieter stuff, most notably a funked up "Autumn Sweater." I could've done without "Tears Are In Your Eyes" (as always), and I would've preferred the guitar version of "The Summer" (like at Maxwell's), but overall it was a satisfying show.

That sums up my feelings in general - the show was very satisfying. Big free outdoor shows will rarely blow you away, but I liked pretty much everything I heard yesterday and that's all you can ask for. I've seen YLT and the Jicks each do better and worse - but never together, and never for free, so kudos to Matador for putting this together. It even proved to be a perfect excuse to battle the South Street Seaport crowds for the fireworks afterwards.

For more on the show, check out Fluxblog (who noted the setlists below) and Statute of Frauds. Brooklyn Vegan has some pictures too.

SM'S SETLIST

Dynamic Calories / Do Not Feed The Oyster / Post-Paint Boy / Pencil Rot / Water And A Seat / No More Shoes / Animal Midnight / It Kills / Baby C'mon / Church On White / Mama / Dark Wave / Loud Cloud Crowd (quickly aborted) / Jo Jo's Jacket / Witch Mountain Bridge

YLT'S SETLIST

We're An American Band / We're An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad) / Stockholm Syndrome / Tears Are In Your Eyes / The Summer / ? (cover?) / Cherry Chapstick / Autumn Sweater / Little Eyes / Big Day Coming (loud) / Tom Courtenay / ? (new?)

ENCORE: ? (cover) / Sheena Is A Punk Rocker (The Ramones)