GRATEFUL DEAD | Viola Lee Blues (Reaction) | 05/02/70

#gratefuldead #violaleeblues #recap
I’m back at it for the third time this week with Grateful dead. This week was dedicated to getting in at least 3 of their songs. This one should be more of a “rocker”, which is more my style.
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Here is the link to the original video I reacted to:
• Grateful Dead - Viola ...
My other Grateful Dead reactions:
China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider: • GRATEFUL DEAD | China ...
Ripple: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Ripple...
Not Fade Away: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Not Fa...
Bird Song: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Bird S...
Terrapin station: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Terrap...
Cumberland Blues: • GRATEFUL DEAD in studi...
Althea: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Althea...
Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin’s Tower:
• GRATEFUL DEAD | Help o...
Shakedown Street: • GRATEFUL DEAD | Shaked...
New Minglewood Blues: • GRATEFUL DEAD (reactio...
I do not own the rights to this song. No copyright infringement was intended in my reaction video.

[@samblethen]

My first Grateful Dead concert was in 1967. I can only remember seeing them do this one once. It was at the Ark in Boston in the spring of 1969.

[@shakindave]

I might or might not have been stoned or tripping when i used to listen to this from their first album. It starts as a country blues a works itself up into a a high pitched frenzy, almost white noise, and i was with them. Suddenly they all stop on a dime and leave you floating in mid air until they all come back on the original beat and you are back in that country blues but your head is still in the clouds. Great memories.

[@lemon-cd9qv]

There is always the first lead guitar riff that is usually mind blowing and capable of making heads roll.This is pure psychedelic acid rock and so many different versions.This version has that classic Dead style that developed in 70

[@bobschenkel7921]

A true rarity. The Dead only played this song 33 times out of over 2300 concerts, and they never played it after 1970. My first show was 1980, so I never got to see one live. Thanks for taking a dive into the deepest end of the pool. Jerry garcia is especially featured here, the man was so... everything you can imagine on a guitar. He's known by everyone, but I still think he's WAY underrated. The rest of the guys were really great, and they really cared about what they sounded like. That's why they developed The Wall Of Sound a couple of years later, the first portable, barely, high quality PA system, powered by 26,000 Watts of McIntosh Amplifiers.

[@otherstar1]

It was a real treat when I first heard versions of this by Dead & Company!

[@bobschenkel7921]

@@otherstar1 Haven't made any Dead & Co. shows. Yet. Viola Lee Blues would be fun live, no doubt.

[@josephbrabander9124]

When was their last time it was played?

[@nealpierson9072]

Great to see someone doing this tune. This is the original six-man Grateful Dead line-up (more like five because I don't think Pigpen plays on this version) in action, a locomotive choogling along in unison before blasting off into the bluesy psychedelic cosmos, and then returning on a dime to the groove. They did that with two drummers! This 5/2/70 show from Harpur College was a legendary bootleg tape that was heavily circulated among traders decades before it got an official release. The show is most famous for the opening acoustic set, which is totally magical and the complete opposite of this behemoth Viola Lee Blues, which is found in the second set along with other psychedelic rock songs and r&b covers that were more typical of the band during the 60's than what they morphed into by the early 70's.

[@xtifr]

There was _definitely_ some organ there, so it was probably Pigpen. Outside chance it was Tom Constanten, but I think this was _just_ after he left the band.

[@JackCerro]

This is top shelf GD madness. I can't imagine what it must have been like to witness this live.

[@messiahmoose]

From this era you’ve got St. Stephen->The Eleven (from Live/Dead) that’s pretty epic, or Cryptical Envelopment->The Other One->Cryptical (Harpur College 1970). Enjoy the trips.

[@jeffmartin1026]

This is why, as we used to say, there is nothing like a Grateful Dead show. St. Stephen>Not Fade Away>Morning Dew, Cornell '77 is another grouping that absolutely takes off.

[@robertgrosek1124]

These tunes and their style of play from ‘66 to ‘69-70 is often referred to as Primal Dead. Heavily influenced by psychedelics and also can be considered acid rock. This was one of their songs that they typically extended the jams. 70 or so the whole summer of love thing faded and they all moved out to the country and went cowboy with the new tunes being much more country innfluenced

[@mikemorris3028]

Nailed it on primal Dead, in early 70 they started working in the Working’s Man/American Beauty material that has a distinctly different feel. Extended jams after this period centered on That’s It for the Other One, Dark Star and Playing in the Band. As songs were added post Wake of the Flood in ‘73, a larger variety of songs made up the set lists that took many of these primal era songs out of rotation. For me personally, different days call for different eras to enjoy.

[@otherstar1]

@@mikemorris3028 you just nailed why I love the Dead...they could play it all, and they left us so much recorded music (thanks tapers!) that we fans can find just about anything to suit our mood on just about any given day!

[@abexartgallery4401]

Listen to the whole concert 5-2-70

[@nealpierson9072]

One of the other more intense hard rocking Grateful Dead songs is That's It For the Other One, which was shortened to just The Other One around 1971-72. The original version has more mellow opening and closing segments by Garcia, but the middle section is the first song written by Bob Weir, and it could be a really intense psychedelic groove that got jazzier over the years along with the rest of the band. There are tons of different live versions to choose from, and they all have something special about them.

[@poetreatsartreats2469]

Recap: "I never knew they did anything like this!" Deadheads: "Dude they invented this!" Great Reaction Man!

[@samblethen]

This is the ultimate version. Thanks!

[@lemon-cd9qv]

Best years of the Dead 66 thrue72

[@Stephen-nd1sx]

There is an endless supply of grateful dead. Try out one more Saturday night, Barton hall. Or alligator.

[@KOLLIS1969]

One can always see it in a new fans face......that moment when they take that first step onto the bus. For reference give The Other One a listen. I lean towards the later ones. Long, jammy, with lots of MIDI from Jerry and big earthshaking bombs from Phil.

[@robertgrosek1124]

At this time yheir are 2 drummers Mickey hart and bill kreutzman

[@mikeb8843]

To answer the question---YES YES YES--- The GD perform many many many tunes as wild as this. Keep exploring

[@crazyfingers19]

Yeah baby! Old school Dead! Right on!

[@patrickbrown3135]

It was a total trip-out man- pretty groovy!

[@JackCerro]

Phil Lesh was kind of a menace in May of 70.

[@shortstuff7959]

There is Dead music for every occasion.

[@andylawson87]

The musicians circa 1970: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir- Guitars, Phil Lesh, Bass, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzman, Drums, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Organ. You should play Cosmic Charlie, Dancing In The Street or The Other One>Cryptical from this same Harpur College show if you like the more electric side of Grateful Dead music. Try 'em!

[@PERKSreCAP]

Some of those have already been suggested. I will get to them.

[@daveseidnergd]

Love the Cosmic Charlie from this show!

[@user-cr2bt3zp1f]

So basically from 1967-1970 (approximately) was what most Heads call the Primal Dead. It was what they referred to as the “seven-headed dragon”- it was loud, psychedelic rock, and it could certainly be intense. It more or less gave way to the style that they adopted in the early 70s, which was strongly influenced by their folk work from around the same time as this show. Hell, on 5/2/70, they also played an acoustic set. The style that you’re more familiar with is sort of an electrified evolution of their more rootsy style, with some elements of their earliest stuff still remaining. I recommend Live/Dead and Two From The Fault for more of this kind of thing.

[@evanerys]

This is the song and the version I play for people who ask what it is I like about the Grateful Dead. My copy of the bootleg of the first set was eaten by the tape deck in my old 78 Volvo less than six months before Dick's Pick's 8 came out.

[@keef7224]

Drenched in acid! 🎸💥

[@josephbrabander9124]

This the latest I've ever heard. Virtually everyone I've heard has been '66-'67. In his interview for Rolling Stone #100 Garcia mentioned that they don't do VLB anymore. Also, to understand their influences you might want listen to the original. Recorded in 1928 by Cannon's Jug Stompers and written by their harmonica player Noah Lewis.

[@Bear78420]

If I remember correctly this is Binghampton NY, dicks picks volume 8. This whole show is amazing!! Also, in case no one has told you already, that red n blue symbol you show, the skull with the lightning bolt, is called a Steal Your Face(sometimes shortened to Stealie). It’s a line from a song of theirs called He’s Gone. Steal your face right off your head ☺️ There is even a venue outside of San Francisco made for the Dead. An aerial photo of the venue shows the venue is a Steal Your Face symbol 😉 Finally, I’d say they had many moments like this. Many and many!! The thing is getting not just the right songs but the right versions. I’ll give a few examples and see what you think ☺️ Like I said, this whole show is unbelievable. It’s still one of the top ranked shows in Dead history. From this same show, jeez, Good Lovin is great. The Cryptical into the other one back into Cryptical is crazy good. Another disc that’s great is literally just called Live Dead. Same era as this show. The Eleven, Lovelight and Death don’t have no mercy…all musts. Next, Dicks picks volume 3. The music never stopped, Sugaree, help/slip/frank, Samson n Delilah, estimated prophet, eyes of the world, wharf rat. If you try and like any of these reply here n I could suggest more. I’ve studied them most my life. Last one. Deal-Egypt ‘78. The guitar solo is electric!!

[@PERKSreCAP]

Added these to the list! More Dead to come!

[@Bear78420]

Most excellent brother man 😁 I look forward to seeing what you think!! I should have added there are different distinct eras of the Dead because members passed away. Pigpen was original dead. He passed in ‘73. Donna Jean n her husband Keith joined until Keith died, around ‘79-‘80. Brent joined until he passed(yes, it’s a pretty sad story even with all the beauty) around ‘89-‘90. A few others filled in, sometimes together(Vince welnick and Bruce hornsby) until Jerry passed in ‘95. Then they’ve done some side stuff, Bobby has Ratdog, and Phil did Phil n friends. They did some tours together, some side projects n that’s brings us to now. So, to me, early dead was the most electric but also experimental. They were still finding themselves. The 70’s had some great shows with Donna n Keith. It got a more disco feel, n funk, in this era. Particularly ’77 had many famous shows. Then the 80’s are known for the keys cause Brent played the b3 Hammond n imo was the best on keys throughout the years.

[@user-cr2bt3zp1f]

I just recently found your channel through your Phish videos but- man! Viola Lee Blues, Harpur College, 1970! My absolute favorite version of Viola Lee Blues and one of my top “primal” Dead tracks of all time.

[@PERKSreCAP]

Welcome aboard! More Dead and more Phish on the way.

[@tourhead]

"I'll be Nezrah bound"......Nezrah was a terrible prison in the south that you did not want to be sent to ....... "You know by my letter, I got a friend somewhere".....Prisoner song... -Nordy

[@KOLLIS1969]

Always gotta dance to this one. I was SO thrilled that they played this for the Fare Thee Well shows. One of my favorite "older" GD songs.

[@brianteichert1959]

No turning back now!

[@shortstuff7959]

You might try Lovelight with Pigpen singing.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Add on: Grateful Dead has a couple of albums, produced in the late 90's, called "Greyfolded" and "Infrared Roses", which uses studio technology to "embellish" or combine multiple live tracks into something even more different. These albums were done outside of the bands inner circle, but did have the members consent. No real vocals on any track, it's all music or distortion, or both.

[@jeffmartin1026]

Gray Folded is excellent!

[@roygoad2870]

Love this, I don’t think there’s a bad version of this song, can’t believe you’ve never heard this before. For me there best jamming song. Listen to a few other versions, especially from January/February 1968. Pigpen on the organ is much more prominent and gives it an even better feel imo! The one to really listen too is the one with some banter before they start playing, where Jerry says ‘You can take your clothes of and start to wiggle’. So cool, as the police ordered the crowd not to 💃 dance. Then they play an awesome 22 minute jam of the song, incredible! The actual song was from the 1920’s and is an old folk standard and has an interesting history! Checkout Alligator, The Other One, Caution (Do not Stop On Tracks) in fact just listen to the Dead between 1966 to 1970 pure bliss 😎

[@markherman9067]

4/12/70. !!

[@daveseidnergd]

Hey, thanks for the mention. Glad you picked Viola Lee Blues, and wow you sure did pick the best version! Great reaction, brought me back to the first time I heard this. The Harpur College show is legendary. Featured a phenomenal acoustic set, too.

[@PERKSreCAP]

Thank you!

[@markclark6194]

One of the best Dead songs and one of the best versions. It’s criminal they only played it 52 times. Great review!!

[@PERKSreCAP]

Thanks!

[@shortstuff7959]

Yes, they had two drummers most of their 30 years. Mickey left for a couple of years but ultimately came back.

[@samblethen]

Another super hot tune is the version of Caution from 6/14/68. The Grateful Dead made their first appearance at the Fillmore East and came on right after Jeff Beck and blew the roof off. Garcia just played like a demon! This Caution is 60's psychedelic rock at it's absolute finest. A must listen. kzbin.info/www/bejne/joepdYZ6hrGMitE

[@PERKSreCAP]

I will surely get to this, thanks for the info and the suggestion!

[@samblethen]

@@PERKSreCAP Another fantastic 60's Grateful Dead barn burner is Turn on Your Lovelight (2-28-69). Garcia's solo just keeps going and going. And never stops blazing. Jerry is on FIRE on this one, and the others are right there with him stride for stride. Some seriously hot soloing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5euh42hj7VllZo

[@poetreatsartreats2469]

ReCap: "Never knew they did anything like this!" Deadheads: "Watchu' talkin' bout Willis?" Doobies: "Listen to the Music"

[@poetreatsartreats2469]

Now that's Funny!

[@nealpierson9072]

The really intense Grateful Dead hard rocking out-there stuff is generally songs that they played that were like 15-30 minutes long, sometimes even longer. They had a 30 year career, so there's so much ground to cover. Listen to the Live/Dead album from 1969 which has a suite that goes Dark Star > St. Stephen > The Eleven > Turn on Your Lovelight, before taking a dark turn with Death Don't Have No Mercy into 7 plus minutes of Feedback (which is exactly what it sounds like it will be), before calming down into the traditional spiritual gospel And We Bid You Goodnight. Be warned that you're in for an intense 75 minutes of music, which you can easily break up into halves if you pause after The Eleven.

[@tuckerprice342]

there’s a “that’s it for the other one” from this same show that gets pretty intense, you can pick pretty much any show from 68-70 and get a similar experience. for some heavy moments after that i’d recommend would be the “dark star”from 8/27/72 and the “truckin’” from 11/6/77, also the 30 minute “truckin’”from 6/22/73 gets intense and has a “feedback” section like the end of this, also this isn’t intense but i’d recommend the “eyes of the world” from 8/6/74, just e very good song and this is the very best version.

[@PERKSreCAP]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[@tuckerprice342]

@@PERKSreCAP you’re welcome! have fun listening!

[@xtifr]

Man, when I saw you were doing this song, I jumped on immediately, just to see your face when you heard this! And you did not disappoint! ☺ Yeah, this is the original Grateful Dead! A mix of great blues and general weirdness (hinted at with that short feedback session at the end of the song). I love that they branched out to try so many other styles, but early Dead is still my favorite. I've suggested "The Other One" before, and I'll suggest it again, though you might want to search around for a version that isn't half drum solo. The one from Rockpalast on German TV in 1981 is great! Also, "St. Stephen -> The Eleven", but try to make sure you find a recording that has both songs. "The Eleven" (named for its tricky time signature) was only in their repertoire for a few years, but I'm pretty sure you'll love it!

[@PERKSreCAP]

Yes, a few others have suggested The Other One, too, so it will be coming. Ive added your other suggestions to the list as well. Thanks!

[@waltermarkham8437]

This song IS their catalogue!!...now your getting it....check out The Eleven

[@andyzehr9839]

So glad you’re leaning into the Grateful Dead! Songs similar to this (extended jams, feedback, etc.) include “Alligator”, “Caution (Do not Stop on Tracks)” which typically went into a feedback jam, “The Eleven”, “The Other One”, and “Playing in the Band”. 1967-1970 is what I like to call “Primal Dead” and is just fantastic

[@cosmic_charlie_2378]

If you want a heavier rocker like this one, check out "the other one" from 4/26/72 or 4/11/72

[@PERKSreCAP]

A few have suggested this I’ve. I’ll definitely get to it. Thanks!

[@poetreatsartreats2469]

Thanks for playing this Man.. Awesome song.. As a longtime Dead fan, I can't believe I've never heard it (: > Keep the bus Rollin' Bud

[@deechatterton5828]

Well, if you like this, it's worthwhile to listen to the studio version from their self-titled first album. It's almost as nuts. For another nugget, check out this version of That's It for the Other One kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJuyo3mHm65od6M . It's from July, 1971 at their last Fillmore West concert and there are times that it literally flies into another dimension. Also, the entire first side of their album Anthem of the Sun which is where The Other One was first recorded, is terrific stuff. It's a mix of studio and live recordings. That version of The Other One has four different live versions woven together like some sort of musical braid. I've never heard anything like it ever recorded anywhere else. On the second side, there is a Pigpen original called Alligator that is a lot like this only not quite as manic. You're right, the weakest point of the band was their vocals but they were always good enough and, more often than not, perfectly suited to the music. I think we who decide these things can officially call you a Deadhead. Congratulations, welcome aboard the bus!

[@PERKSreCAP]

I'm happy to be officially called a Deadhead. It's been a great journey that is not even close to being over.

[@peterreist2882]

Primal

[@Montuckz]

when i saw Viola lee blues in the title i knew you were in for a shocker! Jerry would make Stevie Ray vaugh blush during this track. if you want some even more SHRED in your Grateful Dead check out the Band Joe Russo's Almost Dead. (JRAD) they cover Dead music but with more tempo and more SHRED. this Viola is the Shred level we are talking about. this is 52 years ago. fucking wild.

[@tourhead]

Allright!!!! This rips!!! Yeah reCAP!!!! Your reactions are the best! And that point you said, "hope you stuck til the end" still had seven mins left!!! Yes!!! This show is almost 4 hours long FYI. We are Dead Heads man! We always listen til the end! Pigpen and Janis Lovelight next brother! Do it!!! It's fierce!!! -Nordy

[@PERKSreCAP]

Thanks man! Ive been looking for that Janice/Pigpen song, Lovelight, but I havent found a good version. If you have a good link, send it my way.

[@tourhead]

@@PERKSreCAP Check your email man! Sent the best one!!!

[@rhlang11]

GD were all over the landscape creating such visuals. Ballads, blues, folk, jazz, country rock n roll, explorations. They stopped being raw in and around 72 but this stuff was powerful in an immediate kind of way. re the drums: Billy was more flowing, jazzier while Mickey had bigger more powerful beats.

[@stevehanham9266]

Music wise this was great. Some decent guitar going on here. Not over keen on the vocals to be honest, but I like the playing. Cheers and stay safe. 😊😎🎸🇺🇦

[@PERKSreCAP]

Agreed Steve!

[@patrickbrown3135]

Bill is laying down the basic beat ,while Mickey is playing off him with accents & fills etc. -sometimes off beat.This heavy bottom end really sets the stage for making people have no choice but to dance. Nobody is sitting in their seat at a Dead show- if you are, you are a lame.

[@kurtschreiber908]

You want some more hardcore smoke your face off? Check out (type in KZbin search) the other one 10-12-68 Avalon ball room Grateful Dead. Hard hitting boyyyyy

[@zackparmertor4757]

If you dig this one then you should check out Easy Wind Live at the Capitol Theatre 1971 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3_CaIJteq2hadU