The performances at the Mayan Theater were really interesting and some noticeably different from the album. I was disappointed to hear the drum machine and sequenced bass, but watching the rehearsals put things in perspective. Sting's goal at the time was to explore the material and keep it raw. As we know, there are some that weren't overly pleased with the end album result. I hope Sting follows Peter Gabriel's or Pearl Jam's lead and releases some official bootlegs from this tour. I think this material will only get stronger.

Some great clips of Jason Rebello in action. It was unbelievable to see him play a fiery solo during a rehearsal of "Never Coming Home" while sitting casually and not even looking at his hands! As Dominic doesn't seem to get the lead in Sting's arrangements these days, Jason shines as the strongest member of this band.

As Giovanni mentioned, there is a very funny interview with Sting and Dominic explaining the process of writing "Shape Of My Heart" :)

Joy Rose improvises a hilarious song about leaving and then subsequently returning to the rehearsal room. She is a vocal powerhouse and it's fascinating to see how her role is defined in the band at this stage.

"Forget About The Future" has another set of lyrics! The alternate song is called "That Sinking Feeling" and the lyric pace is much faster (lyric sheets definitely needed here!). I was surprised to see Sting instruct the band on controlling the emphasis of their playing at different points in the song, especially since this track struck me as the most monotonous on the album. It's performed as a medley of sorts.

I have only one very, very minor complaint and it's a selfish one. Whoever edited this film blended live footage with the rehearsal tracks (including points where they break and discuss). This makes it impossible to record the tracks to CD and have a perfect "live companion" to the album. Oh well!

Unfortunately, I think might no longer be on the A&E schedules as the DVD is officially released very soon. >From what I've seen, it looks well worth picking up. Perhaps especially if you didn't like the CD - it might shed some new light on the material for you. It certainly did for me and has me anticipating the developed live show even more!