This is a small taste of the show overall, the bits and bobs that I found interesting and funny, insightful and relevant. To hear everything that happened, check out the podcast version of the show. If you want a quick read along with random self inserts and my personal thoughts, you've come to the right place.
Call in Point:
(This is the broadstroke canvas on which I base my call, obviously these notes are going to be longer and more detailed.)
As we all know, there's been a global pandemic happening and even though life is slowly returning to a semi sense of normalcy (covid is not over, no matter how you want to spin it,) we still are stuck in the house for the most part. The thing is, during this deep dive of living behind your walls, people really got into streaming (god only knows Comcast wanted to kill me for several months.) The most popular show that was streamed wasThe Office(no shock there) followed by things likeThe Sopranos,Friends,New GirlandThe Vampire Diaries. This led Angi to ponder, what are you rewatching right now? Old shows are more of a comfort food than anything else and the indulgence of them is easy and comforting so digging in makes sense. For example, Abe simply does not have the attention span for a new show, there's too much to learn and take in. Angi explained that she personally is always watching TV with some form of distraction. The association with old shows is feeling good and we really all want to feel good right about now. So what should people be watching? Angi heardDexterandBreaking Bad(I told her not to bother withDexter, it got so bad.) Abe though soldBreaking Badlike no other, it's the greatest show ever according to him. As for watching, Abe has found himself buried in rewatchingDifferent Strokes, hilariously enough because it was so great but also so messed up. In turn, Angi mentionedFacts of Life, which led to an Abe sidetrack about George Clooney being on there and thenRoseanne, where he "tried to bang Jackie." The funny thing was these trainwrecks of a show actually taught lessons to kids (as bizarrely as they came to them.) As usual, because it's a day that ends in the word day, Abe brought upFull House. Since I don't have the mental capacity to think about Stamos today, let's move to the roadies. Todd called to say he's been bingingAll in the FamilyDVD's. Angi has actually found herself tempted to show some ofAll in the Familyto her 16 year old daughter so it was ironic that it came up. Jason called to sayLeave It to Beaver, which Abe used to watch along withDick Van Dyke. Chad is running deep onThe Shield, which led to Abe having a full on discussion with him. As a balance, Angi told Abe he should watchThe Wire, which is incredible apparently (and been on my watch list for years now.) Head Roadie Troy said thatBreaking Bad,El CaminoandBetter Call Saulall should be watched back to back and then chased down withSons of Anarchy. Abe added that Katy Segal's husband is the creator ofSons of Anarchy(andMayans MC) and he would have her get banged on Sons because he liked to watch (allegedly.) Dennis from Gay, Indiana saidThe Golden Girls(because of course he did.) Abe brought up yet again his shock thatThe Golden Girlsare all dead. Head Roadie Mario said Boy Meets World is his current rotation to which Abe said that people should Google Topanga which led to Angi hating on her (good for you Angi.) Head Roadie Pat has been rewatchingSanford and Son. Then we went off the deep end (as we do on this show) when aSmall Wonderdiscussion broke out because Abe declared her a living doll (the sex toy.) Angi mentionedAlf,Punky Brewster. Everything starts to overlap some more and it turned into talk of Angi and Abe's childhoods. She had bad hair, he had expensive shoes and torn sweatpants, I have a bottle of aspirin for this headache I have atm. Adding in a final point, as ironic as it feels given the number 1 choice and the show guest today, before his passing yesterday, my roommate Chenzo basically only watchedThe OfficeandBar Rescue. On his off days, that was all he did when he was relaxing and at night,The Officealways filled our apartment as background noise for sleeping.
All the Rest:
After a weekend that found Angi planting flowers and boozing on her deck, Abe also apparently had a strange weekend. Misfits band member Jerry Only texted Abe some random video this weekend. Apparently it was something stupid and only worth noting because it was from Jerry Only. Logically, Angi wondered if it was solo porn that he had sent. As cool as it would be to have a rock star send you a random video text because why not, Abe kind of wished it had been Danzig who was hitting him up (more than likely with an r u up? text probably.) Speaking of people Abe loves, noted show boyfriend Drew McIntyre will be calling in this week. Angi asked if Abe had gotten a copy of his new book yet and he actually has. However, since he is living the minimalist zen buddha Ivory Tower keeper lifestyle, he made sure to get a digital copy of it. He even had one for Angi who I'm sure would probably throw it right into her iPad's trash once it was transferred over. Moving away from weekends but still following the "rock" star theme, the next topic was living embodiment of covid Kid Rock's restaurant. It seems that over the weekend, a guy took off his colostomy bag and started to swing it around everywhere. If this doesn't surprise you it's because this is something very on brand for a place called Kid Rock's Honky Tonky SteakHouse. Speaking of gross places that you'd probably get hepatitis from eating at, noted restaurant rescue maestro Jon Taffer is also on the show today (see interview notes below this.) To cap off this recap, Angi mentioned that she's headed to Vegas a week from Friday, away from this mess of bi-polar weather and a few days of Abe's insane ranting.
Beloved TV staple and bar rescue guru Jon Taffered called in this morning to promote the new season ofBar Rescue. It started with Angi discussing her love ofBar Rescue, something that she has watched for years. After discussing that she had viewed the premiere last night, she went on to explain how she had once been a bartender. This obviously is a career she could fall back on if the whole radio thing goes to pot. Angi explained that she had been watching a rerun and it was a very emotional episode that involved a VFW. She knows he's a tough guy but it was nice to see him be emotional as well. Jon explained thatBar Rescuehas found itself in an evolution. The show has been on the air for 11 years and it has changed over time. The one thing that has not changed is that they follow the stories and he did recall the VFW episode being totally emotional (in fact, there is another one this season as well.) For this season they did something different, all 10 episodes were shot in Vegas, which has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. The industry was almost decimated so there's lots of tears, lots of emotion. It goes forth to show how the people were affected by the pandemic. Angi was particularly impressed to see that the show was focusing on things beyond The Strip, local bars, hole's in the wall, mom and pop type places. Jon went on to discuss what a challenge it was to actually film a show likeBar Rescueduring the pandemic. It's a crew of 57 people, 3 covid officers and no one was allowed within 15 feet of him without a mask and face shield. The rooms had to be sprayed and sanitized every hour. Everyone that was let inside was instantly covid tested. There were a ton of protocols in place as well. For example, only 25% capacity at each place for the stress tests (which means everyone had to end up getting 4 drinks a piece.) Moving along, Angi and Abe angled to get cast as the recon customers ifBar Rescuereturns to Chicago. Chicago is a place he thinks of often. In fact, his wife is from Naperville. With the subsiding of the pandemic a bit, Jon believes that the industry will finally start really rebounding this summer. Angi then shifted the topic to the ugly side of rescuing a bar, discussing revolting things like maggot soda guns, rats and roaches. She asked Jon what some of the grossest things he had seen were. There was once a fridge under a deep fryer that had a dead racoon in it. At another place, some many rats were running around that they kept crashing into his crew's sneakers. There was one kitchen that smelled so bad, he had to put garlic on his tongue and breath through his mouth so he wouldn't smell it and even then he only made it a minute. For Jon, it's not the bad food but the losses that get to him and that's why he does this. He wants to see these people rebound and succeed. Abe chimed in with his Abe question to ask if Jon has ever kicked anyone's ass. There has never been a physical altercation, not only on the show but in his personal life. There was a brief back and forth where Abe made a point about him being Ike Turner but I think we've had enough Abe nonsense in here. The interview was capped with Jon talking about how he doesn't follow the cameras, the cameras follow him. Once the people participating see this and how real it is, they come to understand that he's fighting for them.
Finally, a new Rock 95.5 studio is coming but in typical fashion, someone is not happy. The twist to this story is it is not Abe complaining this time but Angi. In fact, Abe only brought this up to showcase how silly she is for making a stink about things. Let's rewind a little to explain how we got to this point to begin with. So on Friday, there was a meeting to discuss the creation of new studios for the Chicago iHeart staff. They would be moving on up to the penthouse of the building and as Abe described it, this was going to be the Taj Mahal basically (to go with his Ivory Tower.) The thing is, Angi missed the grand unveiling because she had fallen asleep during the meeting (Friday's are not a good day for her as the week finally catches up to her.) Here's where the issues start to arise though, Angi was told of this majestic palace being rolled out with them but there is a problem, there is no window in the studio. Abe tried to push aside her need for a window by explaining that the hallways will be baked in sunlight and joy. Where is the window! she demanded, not persuaded by the sunlight comment. Abe said that they don't need a window and if she wanted the sun so bad, back to the hallway comment. "I need the sun, I want the sun, I must have a window!" she forcefully demanded. It doesn't matter if there's sun or not, she needs that window for her sanity. So that brings us back to the opening, the shock that there is a complaint. Angi is being handed a gold bar but it's not what she wants so it's flawed. Annoyed, she asked why not just work in the basement from home because there's no window there, what's the difference. After some more back and forth, we ended up back on square nowhere. I'm going to end these notes by saying stay tuned to the show and let's just see how this plays out over the next few months.
Request Wars:
Current Champion: Rich
Challenger Song Choice: "Life IS Beautiful"
Champion Song Choice: "Bulletproof"
Observation: This was blander than white bread. I may have been having a devastating day as is but this mess only made it worse. I don't care who wins today.
Winner: Rich
The 8:30 Call Out:
Abe called out Leon Rogers (from WGCI) because he was hanging out with Ric Flair yesterday.
Lucy called out her neighbor for expecting Lucy to do her laundry.
Angry Bob called out his daughter for being a teacher on national teachers day.
Abe called out the cheese that has wax paper on it.
10 o' Clock Toast:
Victor Martinez. Referred to as "Chenzo," best friend of Jay the Gay, General Manager at Broken English Lake Street. Passed away yesterday suddenly, please have a whiskey shot in his honor.
Show Quotes and Tidbits:
Quote: "I have nice pores." - Abe
Quote: "Am I still allowed to watch The Cosby Show?" - Abe
Quote: "Why is everybody famous miniature sized?" - Angi
Quote: "You know what ruined those shows? As soon as the kids started getting ugly." - Abe
Quote: "Can I get some sort of porthole, fish bowl, anything?" - Dungeon Queen Angi
Quote: "Why are we always doing live broadcasts from statues?" - Angi