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44 nAugust 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS the fi rst year Meredith has levied ven- dor fees). The Weirs wasn't crowded until the heat arrived on Thursday after- noon and throughout the week there seemed to be as many cars as motorcy- cles traversing Route 3. Manufacturer demo rides—Harley-Davidson, Indian, Yamaha, Can-Am, Ducati, and the Polaris Slingshot—have moved to one of the massive parking lots at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and are followed by vendors—J&P Cycles, Kuryakyn, S&S, California SideCar, Vance & Hines, and more—in another. In addition to motorcycle racing and music, the site is privately owned and one can say "hasta la vista" to most city ordinances, parking problems and traffi c jams. Of course, a crystal ball—like a cell phone—doesn't always work and so some things come as a sur- prise. So it was with the newest headline feature for Bike Week: LaconiaFest. Wednesday night Steven Tyler played to a crowd of perhaps as many as 4,500 fans at the inaugu- ral LaconiaFest. Not that impressive, considering this legendary rock star is a local resident and that a large percentage of the crowd gained admit- tance for a mere fi ve bucks, despite advance tickets having been sold for $65. However, it is often said that tomorrow is another day—and it was. Thursday morning employees, vendors and security personnel discovered the venue locked, the safe empty, and the promoter long gone. LaconiaFest's problems began a month earlier when promoters esti- mated that crowds of up to 30,000 people would attend—although how they expected to fi t that many people in the restricted venue space is beyond my comprehension. Promoters touted that 100 bands would play during the course of the week and city offi cials had to base security, sanita- tion and emergency person- nel on these numbers—313 police offi cers and 122 fi refi ghters for Saturday and Sunday alone—and the promoters were responsible for this cost. Attendance on the cold and very windy fi rst weekend of Laconia Motorcycle Week was a very small fraction of what was projected. Monday was worse, despite admit- tance being free. On Tuesday some really great bands were playing to audiences of less than a dozen people and sometimes only to me. Security was tight and every- one—everyone except those of us with generic, readily-available press cards—was being patted down for weapons. When asked the reason I was informed it was because knives and alcohol are a dangerous combination. As a matter of record, I would not have placed what I was carrying in a collection box. In fact, two other gen- tlemen told security where they could place that box and left with their ladies for a more hospitable venue. Rumors swirled while vendors, the city manager, employees and headliner Bret Michaels worked together to keep the show going and salvage what they Laconia Continued from page 30 See "Laconia," page 78, column 4 It was down and dirty in the Roadhouse mud pit THUNDER PRESS Editor Shadow makes a few circuits on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway track The 1928 Indian (Ace) Four being restored at the American Police Motorcycle Museum Some ride the bull with more style than skill