WHIRLD TOUR 2010 - LIVE FROM SHEPHERD'S BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON

This is perhaps the best live DVD I've got. Transatlantic hit *exactly* the songs I want to hear: all of the 30+ minute epics are played in this epic-ly long concert. It's stunning to see them perform each of the songs straight through without interruption. How do they have the stamina to tackle the entirety of The Whirlwind in one go? I have no idea, but it's impressive.

The band sounds amazing. Neal Morse is happy and smiling throughout, and it's really infectious. I'm not even that big of a Spock's Beard fan, but he sold me here. Mike Portnoy is his spastic, crazy self and has some good crowd interaction moments.

One thing I love about prog are the huge build ups and releases. I dare you not to crack a smile and do some air drumming when Mike's hands are flying and Daniel's jumping up and down with the biggest grin on his face. Songs like Set Us Free and Is It Really Happening are *made* for live performance.

To top it off, the second disc has endless bonus material. The behind-the-scenes documentary captures everything from their reunion and first rehearsal up to the final concert of the tour.

My favorite moment is after they've played The Whirlwind and All of the Above:

Mike: "You know we've been here on stage probably for more than two hours at this point. We've only played two songs so far."