The Fan Who Raised the Dead

Outside the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., music promoter Peter Shapiro is sucking down a Marlboro and chatting with a security guy about the crowd inside seeing Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh. No major disruptions, the guard says, just somebody who puked while waiting in line. Shapiro laughs. He looks like an aging Jeff Spicoli and fits in among all the Deadheads. He walks to grab a Jack-and-Coke from the bar, where he’s greeted by several fans who recognize him from his two decades spent promoting the kind of improvisational rock the Grateful Dead made famous. “Pete Shapiro!” booms a middle-aged dude, blocking his path. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You make my life better.”

That’s because Shapiro, 42, is behind the farewell concerts that surviving members of the Dead will play in Santa Clara, Calif., (June 27-28) and Chicago (July 3-5). The performances by Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, along with Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio subbing in for Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, are among the most in-demand in years. They come 50 years after the band formed in Palo Alto and five years since the four musicians last played together.