It must be safe to say that thousands of Utah youth have lost their voices this morning, a malady of cheering for You-Know-Who at last night's sold-out Stadium of Fire.

A record 1,400 dancers, three men in blue paint, 45,000 amped locals and a profusion of pyrotechnics joined Disney phenom Miley Cyrus in celebrating America's birthday with gusto in Provo last night.

"How are you all tonight?" Cyrus called out. "I cannot think of a better way to spend the Fourth of July. I am so excited to be here with you guys, but if you guys are really going to have some fun, you all are going to have to be a bit louder."

The crowd responded with throbbing noise.

"I still can't hear you," said Cyrus, not at all mollified. "Come on, Utah, make some noise!"

To this the crowd pounded the bleachers with their feet, giving the stadium a reverb akin to a minor earthquake accompanied by shattering screams of joy as only tweens can produce.

But we get ahead of ourselves.

Friday night's Stadium of Fire kicked off with a prayer, followed by parachuters leaping from a plane to deliver with astonishing precision the flags of each service branch of the U.S. military, including a flag of respect for prisoners of war and those missing in action, a sobering reminder of the cost of freedom and that some pay that price much more than others.

The parachuters' landing was terrifying to watch from the field of Lavell Edwards Stadium, where it seemed they were falling from the sky, but each one executed a perfect landing as the crowd went wild.

So launched what David McDougal, chairman of the Stadium of Fire board of trustees, jokingly called "just another quiet night in Provo."

Conservative doyen Glenn Beck, who hosted the show, took the podium and got straight to the point.

"Happy Birthday, America," he intoned with polished charisma. He challenged the crowd to find meaning in the moment.

"What exactly does the flag mean?" he said as huge banners reading "Courage," "Purity," and "Loyalty" were unfurled over sections of the crowd. "What does the flag stand for? It has been said when we see the flag, we should see the nation itself. ... It means all that our Constitution promises, freedom and justice. ... Ladies and Gentlemen, our Grand American Flag. Long may she wave."

At this, an enormous American Flag was unfurled onto the field, held by men and women in military uniform.

"I mean it with every fiber of my being, there is no place like being here for the Fourth of July," Beck said. "You are an incredible people. We are facing tough times in America, but we are facing nothing more daunting than those mountains and we have made it over those mountains and we will make it again. The key is, we can't forget who we are. ... We are the country that freed man, freed man's mind for the first time. We are the country that changed the world, and this is only the beginning."

Eschewing any single voice, the national anthem was then sung by the crowd, with roving microphones picking up voices from the audience. This was followed by emotional video of men and women of the Utah National Guard who recently returned home from deployment overseas.

With great energy, the Blue Man Group then took the stage, playing twisting masses of a white plastic pipe with red neon drumsticks and, it must be said, a sense of the mystic. Accompanied by a band and a prerecorded guide teaching the common man and woman to become "a megastar" using memorized dance moves to deflect lack of vocal talent, the group managed to perform a crowd-pleasing comedy routine without speaking a single word from the stage.

"Your attention please," interrupted the announcer variously during the performance. "Please yell if you are paying attention."

Good students, the crowd repeatedly obliged, ear-shatteringly so.

Following their performance, three local families addressed, via live satellite, U.S. troops around the world.

"There is a whole stadium of people here who love you and support you and just want you to come home safely," said one of the family members, a woman.

The families were then surprised with live feeds to their loved ones. Tearfully, they spoke brief messages. One serviceman held up a red Utes shirt, to jeers and cheers.

Beck then introduced "the 15-year-old that has a much bigger trailer than I do," a young woman who, by this time, needs no introduction in Utah Valley -- Miley Cyrus, just in case you've been trapped under a soundproof rock.

When Beck announced a false start -- "It's Miley time! Uhh, she's not ready" -- the crowd took up the challenge, immediately chanting the star's name. There did appear to be about a minute of technical difficulty before Cyrus took the stage.

Once on stage, she immediately launched into a song, wearing a white sleeveless top and white pants, gold belt and several gold necklaces. For 45 minutes she worked the crowd and mic with a maturity beyond her years, as much a polished performer as anyone else who took the stage Friday night.