Lynyrd Skynyrd bows out of Bike Week

Law enforcement agencies were relieved to learn that Lynyrd Skynyrd will not be bringing its raucous brand of southern rock to Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center in the middle of Motorcycle Week as scheduled.

Yesterday John Vorel, spokesman for Meadowbrook, said that the band announced that it had postponed or canceled all appearances, including its gig at Meadowbrook on June 15, for two weeks to enable lead singer Johnny Van Zandt to recover from a recurrent strep throat that has plagued him for the past month. Vorel said that Lynyrd Skynyrd has rescheduled its concert at Meadowbrook for Sunday, July 10. "We're disappointed, but looking forward to a great show in July," Vorel said.

Police had planned to mount a significant presence and heightened security at Meadowbrook out of concern that the concert could draw rival motorcycle clubs — the Hells Angels and Outlaws — into a confrontation. Gilford Police Chief and Interim Town Administrator Evans said that security would be augmented by officers from the New Hampshire State Police and Belknap County Sheriff's Office.

"There was a concern," said Laconia Police Chief Tom Oetinger. "There is considerable tension between these two organizations. They are by nature volatile."

"You can't know with any degree of certainty what to expect," Oetinger continued, noting that the police gather and evaluate information in the course of preparing their operational plan for the rally. "We haven't seen anything credible to indicate an intention of a meeting between the two groups."

However, what law enforcement agencies did know caught their attention. The Outlaws have scheduled a "ride-in" in Portland, Maine to coincide with Motorcycle Week at The Weirs, the home turf of the Hells Angels, who own a clubhouse on Fillmore Avenue. In April, four men, wearing the insignia of the Outlaws, walked into a tattoo parlor in Portland, Maine, where they shot and wounded Dennis Towne, 58, of Denmark, Maine, a member of the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club, which police believe is associated with the Hells Angels.

In May, it was reported that Shibley's At The Pier in Alton would be hosting between 300 and 600 Outlaws on Saturday, June 18, the last weekend of Bike Week. During the rally last year a group of Outlaws rode to Alton, then west at least as far as the Laconia By-Pass before they were diverted by police.

When Lynyrd Skynyrd, with its roots in the South and following among the Outlaws, was added to the mix, apprehension grew. There were rumors that both the Hells Angels and Outlaws had purchased significant blocks of tickets, which were discounted by Juris.

Nevertheless, Vorel said that before the news that the concert had been postponed, Meadowbrook's security team was scheduled to meet with local law enforcement agencies to consider security arrangements, including screening ticket holders with metal detectors.

New England, especially New Hampshire, has long been considered a preserve of the Hells Angels. Meanwhile, the Outlaws, which have chapters in 20 states — the bulk of them in the South — have ten chapters in the region: five in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, one in Maine and two in New Hampshire — in Manchester and Raymond.

According to police in Maine, tensions between the Hells Angels and Outlaws began to increase in 2002 when the Black Pistons, a club affiliated with the Outlaws formed a chapter in Portland, sparking a spate of confrontations and violence in the Old Port section of the city. The Black Pistons evolved into a chapter of the Outlaws, which reached a truce with the Iron Horsemen, a club formerly at peace with the Hells Angels. Police believe the realignment upset the balance of power among the clubs in Maine.

Oetinger said that the postponement of the concert removed a significant source of concern. He stressed that during the rally, when resources were stretched, policing an event of that magnitude, with or without the presence of rival motorcycle clubs, added to the pressures on limited personnel. Calling the presence of organizations like the Hells Angels and Outlaws at the rally "always unsettling," Oetinger said that "I don't want to be an alarmist, but we are paying attention and our vigilance will be that much greater."