Waco Brothers Waco Express: Live & Kickin' at Schubas Tavern

Sadly, as good as the Wacos studio albums have always been, there's been the undercurrent of grousing—that, well, it's not like BEING there. Well, now it is. On Waco Express, you can practically feel the heat from the stage, smell the smoke on your clothes, taste the beery taste of beer and let your ears bask in the un-tempered wall of sound and join in with the between song banter. Can't get out of the house? Husband/wife/parole ankle bracelet won't let you? Here's your chance to experience the next best thing.

Full of shout-along manifestos and strident tomfoolery from each of their seven studio albums, Waco Express lives up to the mandate given to the mastering engineer to "err on the side of massive, fierce and overwhelming."
We could write a bunch of hyperbolic drivel about how much fun this record is, but we'd thought be let a PRO do it. Thus, from Greil Marcus's Interview Magazine piece, some commentary:

"With Waco Express it doesn't matter whether you get out much or not; you're right there in Schubas as if you're there five nights a week. The musicians have brought their beers onstage, they're pushing and insulting each other, greeting friends from in the crowd, announcing themselves with "Waco Express," which inevitably comes off as a version of "Hey, hey, we're the Monkees" It's a sense of the event. And then it's as if the band isn't playing the song but chasing it. An exploding pattern of low guitar sparks makes a sound so hard you can almost touch it. A lot of good nights out don't give you that much to take home, that much to keep you awake." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

"As Langford cracks 'I’m a barrel full of laughs with my carbine on,' you can almost feel his boot whiffing past your nose." —Northwest Herald

"The studio versions may be better for grasping the populist lyrics and the singalong melodies that link punk and country, but the live recordings magnify the adrenalized fervor of a Saturday night that also unites the two genres." —Washington Post

"Everything here is bristling with energy, righteous anger and driving, emphatic rock'n'roll." —Iowa City Press Citizen

"It’s a potent mix, the headlong rush alongside well-worn skill, the half-drunken banter next to razor sharp social commentary, and it comes across as unstudied, no, as a force of nature in this uniformly excellent CD. The only problem with this album is that it reminds you, like a kick in the head, that you should have been at this show, instead of only hearing it second hand. That’s the acid test for the best concert recordings, and Waco Express passes easily." —PopMatters

"While they've never risen above cult-hero status, this superbly recorded live document will leave you wondering why ... the band is shit hot [and] they serve up all killer, no filler." —No Depression

"This collection of songs is strong enough to sub for the Waco Brothers "Greatest Hits" album that in a better world would be filling an end cap at a newly unionized Wal-Mart." —All Music Guide