October 18, 2006

Panic To Release Special CD/DVD Package — Complete With Phenakistoscope!

By James Montgomery (MTV.com)

Call it Marketing! in the Holiday Season.

On November 14, everyone's favorite group of emo circus-enthusiasts, Panic! at the Disco, will release a limited-edition CD/DVD boxed set that includes the band's platinum-plus debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (y'know, just in case you don't own it yet), along with a DVD and a whole lot of glittering, glorious ephemera -- just in time for the holidays.

The DVD contains a documentary about the band and a live performance -- both filmed during Panic's July 22 show at the Fillmore Theatre in Denver, and the ephemera includes loads of "early 20th-century burlesque/vaudeville" material, including a cabaret mask, a period-themed newspaper and, most importantly, a phenakistoscope, an animation device that was popular in Belgium and Austria in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

Also included are a 140-page blank diary, lyric cards, a poster, band photos, a tour program and the all-important "certificate of authenticity." At press time, a representative for the band had not provided a retail price for the set, which is limited to 25,000 copies worldwide.

The vaudevillian theme of the package is in keeping with the circus feel of Panic's upcoming arena tour, which kicks off November 7 in Sunrise, Florida and promises to be a, uh, rather festive affair.

Panic are currently in the midst of a European tour, which ends on October 29.