FIRST TIME HEARING | RUSH - "YYZ" | REACTION 

Only Rush could get 50,000 people singing to an instrumental. 😊

Since you asked YYZ is the call letters of their home airport in Toronto, Canada. The Intro part of the song is the Morse Code for YYZ over and over again. When they saw YYZ on their luggage they knew finally the tour was over and they were going home.

There's babies being made! 😂

The washing machines and dryers were a in-joke amongst the band and crew. Early on, Geddy decided to have his bass feed into the concert mixing board, whereas Alex held on much longer to his tall stacks of Marshall amps. To balance the look of the stage, Geddy decided to start filling the space behind him with heavy appliances - starting with washers and dryers. As other have noted, the joke morphed from concert to concert, which is why we later saw working rotisserie chicken cookers behind Geddy.

The reason the crowd is so crazy is that Rush has a huge fan base in Brazil but a it took a lot of years before they were able to tour there. Fans were not sure they would ever see Rush live, so when Rush finally toured there, fans were crazy for them. This video is the first time I have seen an audience "sing along" to an instrumental tune.

Everyone talks about how great Neil is as a drummer and Geddy is as a base player. When I saw RUSH live i was always blown away at how incredible a guitarist Alex is as well. Just killing it all through the show. Three of the greatest at what they do.

The song having no words / vocals didn't stop the crowd from singing along! The concert was at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - with 40,000 attendees this second night, while the previous night in Sao Paolo had 60,000! While I wasn't at this specific show, I saw this tour at the Atlanta, GA show - a friend got tickets that were about 20 yards away from Geddy Lee (the bass player): absolutely mind-blowing! Oh, and the dryers - at one point, a couple of the stage crew came out & started plugging quarters into them like it was a coin-op laundromat! And - the things are *miked* - during the intermission, you could hear the dryers tumbling away - and at the end of the show, Geddy and Alex (guitar) started pulling tour tee-shirts out & tossing the toasty shirts into the crowd! Thank goodness they didn't do that in the concert a few years later where they had rotisserie chickens! 😀

They came up with the idea for an instrumental based on YYZ in morse code one day when they were returning from a recording session at "Le Studio" located outside of Montreal (about 6-7 hours by car). Alex Lifeson was learning to become an amateur pilot at the time, which is why the three of them (along with the flight instructor) could hear the morse code for Toronto's big, international airport, YYZ. Listen to the song again and you'll be able to picture how the song "describes" life at a busy international airport.

this song is the single most piece of complete badassery that i have ever whitnessed!

what always amazed me about Rush is their precision.

This song was my wedding venue entrace

The fans know this instrumental so well we can doo doo daa daa the whole thing without missing a beat. We fans...yep we are that talented. lol

I commented a while back how you have helped me escape from my grief of losing my husband of 37 years last year. You always make me laugh and feel better. Thank you so much for recognizing and loving the music of our generation that we loved so much. I have our original Rush vinyl albums from the 70s, also Led Zeppelin, CCR, Pink Floyd and more. I treasure them and listen to them still! Some have the original price stickers, most under $3..

I want you to think about this... This is so good ... The crowd is singing along ..to a piece ... With no lyrics.

Old knowledge for non-Canadians + non-Rush fans: the letter Z is pronounced as Zĕd, with a short E and a hard D. Thus YYZ is pronounced WhyWhyZĕd. Just a reference for the uninitiated non-Canucks out there.

I spent 5 years in Canada and they pronounce Z as "Zed".

I wasn't at this show but had the good fortune to have seen them twice roughly a month before this show. One in Hershey PA 10/25/02 and Cleveland 11/04/02 . It was a special tour. There was a while there in the late 90's-early 2000's where many thought you would not see them again. But they were back and you could tell they were so happy to be back and the fans even happier. Geddy said one of the happiest moments of his life was the first show of the tour in Hartford when he saw the size of the crowd and their reaction for the first time playing live in 5 years. They were all 50 at this time and I don't think they were more spot on in their performance. Geddy said that you don't ever take anything for granted in the music business and 5 years is a VERY long time to be out of the picture.

I got to see Rush live in Virginia and let me just tell you it was amazing. So much fun. Thankfully I got to see them before Neil passed away. You should check out their song "Witch Hunt" for Halloween. It's awesome!

PS, the hilarious part is when a crew member would come out as they were playing, and move the clothes from the washer to dryer, or take out some of the done chickens or popcorn and set up new stuff.

NICE! This is just one of many great RUSH instrumentals. The stack of dryers behind Geddy was a joking response to the giant stack of amplifiers used by Alex. The dryers would occasionally be switched to vending machines and working rotisseries. For another amazing RUSH instrumental, try "La Villa Strangiato". ☮

Rush eschews the normal glitz and glamour of regular rock bands. Other bands have flash pots, lasers, and fire-falls, Rush has a washer and dryer doing the roadies laundry. While other bands are out getting their guns cleaned after a show, Rush is back at their hotel room reading a book.

The crowd sings along to a song that has no words. That is love and respect for a band. They play music with actual analog instruments...played thru some digital effects...but still hands on analog music. At a typical RUSH concert anywhere in the world, the audience is zoned in from the very first note till the very last note.

Yes they had washers and dryers, which worked, AND wait for it, they also at times had Rotisserie Chicken Machines running, and feed the crew after the concerts with the Chickens etc. Other cool stuff too, Popcorn Machines etc.

La Villa Strangiato/Working Man, Time Machine Tour - greatest instrumental in rock history, leading into a three way shred-fest; you'll love it!! 🎤 🎹 🎸 🥁 🎸 🔥 🔥 🔥

I got to see this tour performance in Las Vegas in 2004. The DVD this is off of, "Rush in Rio," is an excellent show if you have a good sound system.

By far one of the best concert moments ever…🎉🎉🎉👏👏❤️❤️🌍🌎🌏 4:14 the washer and dryer symbolizes the fact that they’re a working band constantly touring😂🎉❤

I love how music brings us all together and reveals to us all how our souls are really aligned. Music will save humanity, always.

I hadn't listened to this performance before, I love how out front Geddy's bass is in this mix!! Incredible playing!!

The washers and dryers spin but don't have water or heat. They used to keep t-shirts in them and throw them out to the crowd

YYZ, Airport code.. Rush's home city

Love there reaction The fans are goin nuts and they feed off that like dope😊😊😊

Rush is legendary. Rush are legends.

AB Hi, crowd is going off, babies being made, this is what Rush concerts do to people, also I love instrumentals, saves Geddys voice. Love this band, always will. Thankyou bud.

😂 Yeah, we "sing YYZ" in NY/NJ/CT too when they played the Tri-State area! 😒 We "sang" alot of Rush instrumental parts & shouted 'Hey' at the appropriate times during 2112! 😁🥰🐰

There’s a documentary about their lead up to playing at the Rock in Rio Festival, having no idea or belief of any fan base in Brazil then being mobbed at the airport upon their arrival. The crowd reaction in this video is INSANE!!! and gets me everytime and I saw them approx. 50 + times since first seeing them during their 2112 tour. YYZ is the Toronto Airport code.

One of the greatest, most talented trios ever! So tight! They don't need to say anything, but even when Geddy sings and rips his bass lines, pretty hard to do. They kick mf ass! I am a proud owner of a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz bass (yes, he has his own Fender bass) but can't get those sounds out of it. Legend.

The bassist Geddy lee no longer used amps for his sound he played through the house speakers so his side of the stage was empty so to take up space they used multiple "stage props" such as washers and dryers, chicken rotisseries and vending machines. It also provided cover for Neil Peart's drum tech to sit hidden next to Neil's kit. YYZ is the airport code for Pearson International airport in Toronto. The beginning of the song on the chimes Neil is playing YYZ in morse code

That is their satirical view on the mountains of speakers and amplifiers behind rock bands.

Morse code at the airport. YYZ is the code for Toronto, Canada airport. Their hometown. Yup, Canadians! The most well known instrumental from the band. One of many incredible instrumentals. When Geddy (bass player) had his equipment switched to digital and pumped out through the monitors, his side of the stage looked bare compared to Alex's (guitar player) side, so they decided to fill it with washer and dryer. It also provided cover for the drummer's (Neil Peart) assistant (Gump), who is always hiding on stage to help Neil when needed. There ya go, info, perspective, and context

The dishwasher washers and dryers were used also to hide the man who come and help the drummer neal pert whenever he needed water etc..

Oh yes the concert in Rio , and YYZED , from the transponders of coming home from tour and the Canadian airport .

Favorite line from Neil Peart, "When Geddy's not singing we're all soloing"

The washing machines -during their later tours, they had fun with “stage props” and wacky films between songs. I saw them on their 2011 “Time Machine” tour, clicks and Sci-Fi shaped decor, even on Neil’s drums. There were some wacky “alternative Time Rush” films shown on big screen. They had a tour with actual Chicken rotisserie on the stage -between songs, a Chef would come on stage, to check the cooking, and chicken was provided to some fans. Rush had an actual “South Park” animation of the characters trying their version of Tom Sawyer. Their final tour, every few songs, the stage set was changed to go back through their 40 years together, and the last set and song looked like a high school stage. The men of RUSH were real creative, amazing with their music ability, and really good to their loyal fans.

Always loved RUSH and always will..

The washing machines were a joke. As technology evolved, it wasn't necessary to have huge amp stacks. Alex kept his so instead of having an empty space behind him, Geddy added washing machines and rotisserie chicken. It was their silly nature that makes them so likeable.

Also, crowd was 70 to 80,000 strong. They're used to arenas that are 20,000. So, they fed off the crowd and played even better - if you can believe that

Back in the day, this is the song that we rock & metal guys would play for our music teachers to see if they could figure out the time signature. (10/8)

80,000 people in attendance in Rio!!!!!!

Gleaned from various interviews with band members over the years: YYZ are the call letters for Toronto Pearson Intl Airport, a reference to relief and joy of them arriving home to see family from a long tour. The washer and dryer machines on stage for this tour was to provide an ambiance symbolizing the memories of jamming in the garage when they were young, and implying the contrast of how far they have come as a band over 40 years. The dryers are loaded with concert t shirts that they toss out to the crowd throughout the show.

washer and dryer is also a reference to how starting bands cut their teeth.. IN THE BASMENT OF USUALLY THE DRUMMERS BASEMENT..

I saw them on this tour. They had someone doing laundry during the show

YYZ is the beacon for the Toronto airport.

I believe that YYZ is the three digits that are assigned to the airport in Montreal. They show up on your baggage, and when they saw those tags, they knew they were going home.

YYZ is Toronto airport. their home town. the song is a non verbal representation of a world tour starting at YYZ and and ending there. Each change could be another city. I think the mid break represents a couple days off, then bang back on stage. If you listen to Neil at the end he says, in the drums, "we are finally fucking home... YYZ". That is what it means. Thanks liked your reaction, thought I could sort that for you.

and just like that a new RUSH fan is born

You want to see crazy. That’s when they played YYZ in Toronto

As the technology got better the support equipment got smaller and Geddy used the appliances to fill out his side of the stage.

The washing machines are for that clean, clean RUSH sound.

So I've seen washers, dryers, vending machines, and I've seen one of those machines that rotate pies at rush concerts. Still don't know what they mean but I love Rush.

flew out and in from yyz and always had this playing in my head lol

Glad to have you as part of the Rush fam bro! Many of my fellow hardcore fans here have already covered the facts behind this song as well as the hijinx they used in their live shows. You GOTTA check out the live version of Far Cry from the Snakes and Arrows tour- 2007. The washing machines were replaced with giant chicken rotisseries that were tended to by a “chef” who came out and basted the chickens a few times during the shows! I saw em twice on that tour and it was mind blowing. The pyro-technics and giant screen on the stage were unbelievable.

Rush: This is an instrumental. Rio: Hold My Beer!!!

You should react to rush drummer Neil pert drum solo video. Rip 🙏

My favorite band of all time is The Police. My best friend's favorite band is Rush. in 1980, this song finished behind The Police's "Behind My Camel" for instrumental song of the year at the Grammy's. I think this song is better, but I have NEVER let my friend know that. 😄

Saw them on the Signals tour in Detroit! Amazing!

According to Gedde Lee, the washer and dryer are also used to clean their clothes and the road crew’s clothes during the concert because it gets hot and sweaty so much on stage …plus it helps cut down on laundry time when they’re on the road for those long tours.. and the rotisserie chicken oven is used to feed the band and road crew…the thinking behind it all is that they preferred to make being on tour feel like “home”, especially since they invite thousands into their living room to perform in front of each venue…they love their fans!✌️😎🎉

Yeah, probably found out already but that is the airport code for Toronto Canada from where they are from. The bells in the beginning of the song is Morse code YYZ.

Rush are legends.

The band always liked to have stuff on stage because of their humor. My favorite was the tour where there were two rotisserie ovens full of chickens roasting. When asked why, and I believe this was Alex responding, it was explained that "they always wanted hot chicks on stage"! This band was legendary.

RUSH "is" a legendary band. RUSH "are" legendary musicians.

they had the dryers going in Cleveland when they played here. they had t-shirts in them they threw to the crowd, I got one.

They were in Rio. Saw the same tour in Nashvill to a sold out stadium

I was in Tower Records, Sunset Blvd, evening hours, October 2003 when I first heard/saw this DVD, which had just been released. The store had monitors set up all around at the time, and when I heard this song begin to play, then realized it was a video, I stopped and watched, jaw fully dropped. Of course I bought it! My favorite live Rush recording.

Bad boy plays guitar! Bassist plays keyboards and footboard. At the same time. While shredding on bass. drummer from hell. Tight like jet engine components. And they have groove. YYZ Drum Method. Drummer Neil Part wrote most of the lyrics and song elements. RIP. Respect. Miss him.

"The crowd is moving like an ocean." Welcome to a Rush concert.

La Villa Strangiato is a must listen to.

They made there speakers into the washing machine and dryers lol

RUSH STILL are LEGENDS even though NEIL "The Professor" PEART sadly passed away..

the washer and dryer as far as i know is because they didnt want the stage to feel like it had so much empty space so they added those in at some point for every show so the stage didnt feel that way

Greatest drummer of all time

Any rock band who wants to get great footage for a live show should record it in Central/South America. Best fans in the world.

Another Rush fan is born!!

You'd like their song " subdivisions"

I would suggest you check out the Godsmack song "Battalla de los Tambores". It features a drum battle between their drummer and lead singer, and the opening of this song is featured in that drum battle. Love seeing people having new experiences with music. ❤👍🏻

I was in Itajwipe, Brazil in 2009, a tiny town six hours Southwest of Salvador. There was a concert for five bands. Six city blocks were filled with people reacting in a similar way. Turns out all over Brazil they have multi-city parties like this on a monthly basis. Brazilians know how to party!

The washer and dryer seem to be a staple in their live performances. I think it is to give the aura of jamming in your parents basement.

YYZ is the code for Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Seen these guys 15 times. Only wish I was at that Rio concert.

YYZ is Toronto International Airport

yyz simulates the planes taking off and landing

Hey, my friend, I saw RUSH in the late 80s, the best live rock band ever!!

Washer/dryer used as props gave their techs somewhere to hide.

“Babies being made”!! YEP!! Sort of like that… From c.1977-8 (a hockey arena), to outdoors at the Minnesota State Fair on Alex Lifeson’s birthday, to their final tour (a hockey arena), I was deeply honored to see RUSH probably seven times. Completely life-changing as a person who never fit in as a child, as a preteen, as a teen, as a young adult…and as a 64 year old with the usual crappy job conditions and the misery of being around people who want to stomp out all the uniqueness of every pebble under their boots; RUSH plays songs in my head to get me through work and family and grocery store checkout lines!! I try to remember Neil Peart’s words regarding Never Being Bored! He carried a book to read in lines. I carry RUSH songs or fragments of their songs in the otherwise busy empty space between my ears!! Long Live RUSH!!! R.I.P. Neil Peart ~

Greatest band of all time lyrically and musically all 3 are virtuosos on their instruments!! Try driven, mission, marathon, big money, lock and key, mission, turn the page A Farwell to kings hemispheres Xanadu live, working man live in Cleveland, Animate, trees ,Tom Sawyer red barchette wich hunt, freewill will, spirit of radio, natural science, far cry, working them angels ,, ,I could go on and on and on Any Rush is good Rush!!!

YYZ = Call letters for the Toronto (I think) airport.

😂again this is the GOAT of all time

When Neil retired from drumming in 2015 he got a job as a librarian at a grade school.

RIP Neil you will be missed!!

Behind Alex Leftson our his amplifiers so they use props and this time it's washers and dryers behind Geddy Lee to counterbalance the stage.

🤗 More Rush! Cool Beans! 😊🥰🐰

Rush is the best rock band of all time i never missed them in Dalles studio quality live