Another good man down

An old working mate of mine has passed. Many of you who went to shows in general in the Bay Area in the '70s/'80s, Dead shows in the '90s and many other events since then have likely crossed paths with Henry Sullivan at one time or another.

He worked as a "Bluecoat" for Bill Graham Presents for many years in many different capacities, he then worked for the Dead in various capacities including head of their touring security during those final crazy years, and has also been connected to Reggae On The River, Rock Med and multiple other organizations and events.

It was not always easy to be kind in the capacities Henry was often involved in, and as any veteran showgower knows many people who work in those capacities often go out of their way to NOT be kind, but Henry was a gentle and generous soul and he helped teach me and countless others how to do it RIGHT. 

At times he had no choice but to be hard, and if you were fucking with others or were just an asshole he would get right to it, but Henry always looked to treat people with respect, empathy and kindness; he personified Bill Graham's idea of "Peer Security".

With the Grateful Dead, among other things it was his job to try and control Shakedown, the ever growing nitrous scene and the lots in general (his hotel room was at times known to have quite a number of confiscated nitrous tanks, ALL to be turned in to the local authorities at the end of the run, of course!). It doesn't take too much imagination to realize what a difficult job that usually was, but working alongside him during those times was a thing to see, how he gently handled situations and how he always had compassion for the heads, even after years of dealing with all their bullshit. 

I really didn't know him that well and I haven't seen him in a long time, but I was very sad to hear the news that he had passed. I have always considered him to be a mentor and friend, and I figured I'd post this here because he was your friend too.

Saint Peter now has help handling the list at the Pearly Gates.

RIP Henry!

Earlier years...

More recent times...