ION INDIE MAGAZINE July 2016, Volume 26 | Page 38

DAY ONE : The first night of the festival , the weather sucked ; plain and simple . Windy and cold weather doesn ’ t exactly give incentive to attend an outdoor concert . Saturday , June 11th , featured BUCKCHERRY and ADELITAS WAY . You would think that these two once formidable bands could draw a pretty decent crowd--they can , and usually do . Some would say these shows were scheduled too early during Laconia Motorcycle Week — due to the fact that the bikers don ’ t really show up until the middle of the week . And I , too , have to question the choice of Buckcherry and Adelitas Way so early in the festival . Don ’ t get me wrong , I ’ m really a fan of both bands , but I have seen them in smaller venues , like a club , which is where they usually play these days .
DAY TWO : This day brought pretty much more of the same . We now have the once mighty SEBASTIAN BACH , former lead singer of SKID ROW . He doesn ’ t exactly draw a large crowd anymore ( before you send the hate mail , note that I ’ m actually of fan of Mr . Bach ). More crappy , less than ideal weather … and let ’ s not forget that a lot of the bikers haven ’ t made it up to Laconia yet ( but they ’ re on the way ).
DAY THREE--Day three brought more of the same . However , at this point , more bikers are converging on Laconia . The weather still sucked in a major way , but the attendance for FUEL and SAVING ABEL was better … way better .
DAY FOUR : This was pretty much a wash--with lots of local talent playing the big stage without a major headliner . The weather was getting better , but the crowd was still thin--very thin . So thin , in fact , that a local newspaper reporter slammed the whole LaconiaFest idea in his article written at the very slowest point in the festival ’ s schedule . MICHAEL KITCH from the LACONIA DAILY SUN has written extensively on all things LaconiaFest and hasn ’ t been kind , but accurate in his articles . You can find one of them here :
http :// www . laconiadailysun . com / newsx / local-news / 95513-laconiafest-empty
DAY FIVE : The weather is better , the talent on the schedule is a much higher caliber . Could STEVEN TYLER save LaconiaFest ? Ticket sales were brisk and the promoters were anticipating high “ walk-up ” ticket sales . Steven Tyler rolled into LaconiaFest with his solo band . He strolled through the building crowd before his show , checking out local talent and just enjoying the festival . Mr . Tyler stopped along the way to take photos with his long-time fans . He ’ s a legend in New England , growing up just miles from Laconia and fronting the original Boston bad boys , AEROSMITH . But alas , the expected and planned for crowd of 15,000 to 30,000 turned into a crowd of 3-4 thousand . Again , lots of excuses … and the finger-pointing increased . And then there are the questions …
Did the city of Laconia , NH require too much law enforcement and fire / EMS presence ? According to TYLER GLOVER ( promoter and alleged bad guy # 1 , they did . Did Tyler and company over-estimate the crowd size when planning the event with Laconia ? Tyler claims the city over charged and “ gouged ” LaconiaFest . Regardless whether this is true or not , one glaring fact and one very big question remain unanswered . Why did Tyler Glover , AUTUMN YLVISAKER ( Tyler ’ s assistant ), MIKE TRAINOR ( event production and promoter ) and one very large security guard nicknamed “ Big Country ”, leave with lots of cash and not return ? That ’ s the MILLION DOLLAR question . Personally , I witnessed cash--LOTS of cash--being taken away in soft sided coolers--always under the watchful eye of two security guards separate from the main security detail . The two security guards in question were referred to as “ Chicago ”, presumably because they were from the windy city or because of their choice of attire--Chicago White Sox hats and jerseys . Whatever the reason , they were

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