Three nights before releasing their first-ever live collection, roots rockers Widespread Panic welcomed a record-breaking crowd of 100,000 fans to their CD release party in downtown Athens, Ga., Saturday night.|

The band hosted the event to announce the arrival of Light Fuse ... Get Away (Capricorn), which hits stores Tuesday, April 21. Although Panic has released five other studio albums, this record captures them doing what they do best -- playing live music. The record clocks in at nearly 3 hours, with material culled from the more than 100 shows the nomadic band played in 1997.

"We put the album together the way that we would've played the show," bassist Dave Schools told JAMTV at the band's office in Athens on Saturday. "We wanted to try to capture the special moments so that everyone who hears us for the first time will understand what's going on live. It's something we've wanted to do -- and something the fans have definitely wanted us to do -- for a long time."

For the CD release party Friday night, city officials cordoned off 13 blocks of downtown Athens. After a welcome message from Athens Mayor Gwen O'Looney, Panic played a spirited show that spanned newer songs ("Greta," "Radio Child"), old favorites ("Space Wrangler," "Chilly Water") and rarities ("All Time Low," "One Armed Steve").

Many Panic fans -- dubbed "Spreadheads" for their Deadhead-like devotion to the band's live shows -- ranked this one at the top. "This was the best Widespread show I've ever seen," said Dan Benz, a 28-year-old glass blower from Madison, Wis. "They just took another step forward."

Although Saturday night's show was in the works for the past few months, it almost didn't go off. "Besides football games, we haven't had large gatherings in the town," said Art Jackson, executive director of the Athens Downtown Development Authority. "A lot of decision makers hadn't been to concerts since the '70s, and there was a fear there'd be mass protest. The band said that wasn't the type of crowd they attracted, and sure enough, the town's officials were really impressed with [Panic's] fans."

Although not all the weekend's figures have been tallied, Jackson estimates that Spreadheads helped generate more than $2 million for the town's business owners. Case in point: The owner of the Athens Brewing Company, a local brewpub, said he equaled half his month's profits in just two days.

Many people -- fans and members of Panic's camp alike -- hope Saturday night's show and the new album will propel the band into a larger spotlight. "This is the breakthrough for these guys," said Mark Wilmot, a 40-year-old Athens native now living in Arlington, Mass. "I've always hoped and wanted all [this success] for them."

Wilmot supported the band when few others had even heard about them. He and his then business partner, Panic's current manager Sam Lanier, came out for nearly all of the band's weekly gigs at the Uptown in Athens in the late '80s. Since then, Wilmot has seen more than 300 shows and has become a good friend of the band. "They filled a void in my life I didn't know would be there when Jerry [Garcia] died. It wasn't as traumatic because Panic was already in my life."

As the night wound to a close, a happy Dan Benz seemed to agree: "It's about good music, good vibes and good people. Panic is all about that." (Ari Bendersky)

Complete set list for Widespread Panic CD release party:

• Set One:
• Disco >
• Tall Boy >
• Love Tractor
• Aunt Avis >
• Diner >
• Walkin'
• Henry Parsons Dies
• All Time Low
• The Take Out >
• Porch Song >
• Blackout

• Set Two:
• One Armed Steve
• Chilly Water
• Greta >
• Christmas Katie >
• Radio Child
• Arlene >
• Papa's Home >
• Drums >
• Papa's Home
• Pilgrims
• Fishwater

• Encore:
• West Virginia >
• Space Wrangler
• Ain't Life Grand