Here in Chicago, we do our fireworks early. Why? Why the hell not.
As Apu (from the Simpsons) once said: "Celebrate the independence of your country by blowing up a small part of it." And so we do. We combine the greatest loves of America here in Chicago: Music, Food, and Blowing Shit Up. It's good stuff.
This year I think they used more big shells than usual. It was fairly impressive. About 20 minutes overall. Oh, and we do ours to live music.