In Memory of Theron Heine, Otus Supply 9-11-2019

Theron Heine was a deadicated fan of the Grateful Dead, Phish, and other jam bands, and a good friend to many.  He passed too soon at 52 years old, and his family and friends gathered at Otus Supply in Ferndale to celebrate his life and share their memories.  The staff at Otus provided an exceptional evening of fantastic food and drink, and entertainment was provided by Phil Nathan of Dead Again, Phish tribute The Kids Under The Carpet, and Raising The Dead.  

We had reached out to Phil and decided to segue our sets, rather than take a break.  After he delivered an excellent set of solo-acoustic Dead and Bob Weir songs, he closed with Not Fade Away.  As the song rolled on, the members of Raising The Dead joined him on stage to end his set with a crescendo.  We continued the show with Mississippi Half-Step, a spacey Cassidy, and So Many Roads, featuring Bill's soulful vocals.  Dave took over lead with Jack-A-Roe before we invited Phil back up to sing Me and My Uncle.  A lovely Dear Prudence followed, giving way to The Wheel and finally to Terrapin Station.  The fine lyrics of Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow being the real stars of this set, we were humbled to be asked by the bereaved family to detour from our program to present our first performance of Ripple.  Phil Lesh's Unbroken Chain followed with a flourish, and we ended the set with a jammed out Help On The Way>Slipknot, followed with what was certainly our shortest Franklin's Tower ever.  Our set ended EXACTLY on time, at 10pm, and we quickly made way for the Kids to continue the party.

It was our honor to be a part of the sendoff for a man who meant so much to so many.  We were also excited to make our debut performance at Otus Supply, and look forward to returning there on November 29 (aka Black Friday), when we will perform the definitive late-80s Dead live album, Without A Net, in it's entirety. 

9-11-2019 Otus Supply, Ferndale, MI
Not Fade Away*, Mississippi Half-Step Toodeloo, Cassidy, So Many Roads, Jack-A-Roe, Me And My Uncle*, Dear Prudence>The Wheel>Terrapin Station, Ripple**, Unbroken Chain, Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin's Tower
*=with Phil Nathan 
**=debut, by request