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.)
Finally we are reunited and it feels so Tuesday, ugh. After being locked up in the drunk tank yesterday, Angi is finally home from Vegas and ready to work. Good thing she got out because between yesterday and today, it feels like a ton has happened. Without dragging this further, let's break down some of the Vegas trip but more importantly, the epic Metallica show at The Metro last night. Let's begin with Angi since she is the namesake of the show after all (plus she was locked up yesterday and couldn't tell us all about Vegas.) So Vegas was a good time according to Angi though it was a lot of work. However, with a few spare hours she had before being locked up, (this narrative is headcanon to me) she was able to go and win $1,200 at the blackjack table. Seems like all those countless hours playing on her phone finally paid off. The other standout moment of Angis' "work trip" were her flights to and from Vegas. Of all the flights in all the airports, she somehow ended up sitting next to her boss's wife on both of them. The funny thing is that these two ended up closer to the front of the plane while the boss was forced to sit in the back. There could have easily been an option to give up her seat to the boss but let's be realistic, who in their right mind is doing something like that for their boss. The entire duration of the flight there was spent with them probably drinking champagne and them both laughing at Angi's boss/the boss's wife's husband (that actually happened.) Even crazy though was that on the return flight home, the same exact scenario occurred. The actual odds of this happening are about as likely as Abe's couch finally being delivered. Angi pointed out that the wife (I guess used to work for an airline,) the woman has millions of miles so she just always upgrades while forcing her husband to the back. Typical Angi behavior, hating on men once again. Anyway, as for Abe, aside from Guns N' Roses Thursday night, he helped host an ALS walk on Saturday morning and then last night, there was Metallica. Abe considered himself so lucky to have actually had the opportunity to attend the show. May I add what a show it was, consisting of mostly all old stuff and opening the show with "Whiplash." Abe hasn't been to The Metro for a show since covid happened so this was a nice return treat. Angi, on the other hand, hasn't been to a show at The Metro in quite some time. The other cool thing about the show, you know aside from Metallica playing at The Metro, was that this was a return show for them. They first played there in 1983 and tickets at the time were roughly twenty bucks so they based the price for yesterday's show at that. I should add that Rock 95.5 was the only station in the whole country that actually gave away tickets to the show as well. Abe was beside himself with the whole show, which he likened to being like a kid again. For him though, the old man in him finally took the wheel for once, keeping him lingering a bit more in the back then pushing their way to the front. Still though, hiding in the back didn't stop Abe from having a drink spilled on him. Personally though, I think the real reason Abe stayed toward the back was because before he went to the show, he had eaten some char grilled oysters. Knowing Abe means you know that about 42 minutes later, he needed to use the bathroom. However, unlike most horror stories that come from using a bathroom at a venue, Abe had nothing but compliments for The Metro's bathroom. Not only was there a door on the stall but the seat was still up (if it had been down, the assumption is a murder occurred in that toilet.) Still though, Abe was rightfully ashamed to be doing his business in a venue and so he hung his head in shame when he went. He was also wearing a Rock 95.5 hat which he immediately turned backwards so that people would not see it (therefore shaming the station on top of shaming him.) If it counts for anything, Angi was jealous of all this fun and spectacle. I should probably also recommend checking out all of Abe's socials as well as the Rock 95.5 ones because there are tons of videos from before and after the show. One of those included videos was a guy who had a "big snake" in his truck that he wanted to show Abe. This guy looks exactly how you envisioned it when you read the phrase "wanted to show Abe his big snake." However, it turns out the snake was dead and as you would know if you listen to the show frequently, Abe only likes to handle "big snakes" that are alive.
All the Rest:
Since today is all about music and having a good time, what else goes better with that than a proper playlist. Obviously, when you go out, you want to hear something fun and interesting in the car (for me, I love things that I can sing along to honestly.) So Angi was curious, what's the go to song for people who are driving. For Abe, much like most of the roadies, he tends to forgo songs and has his dial tuned squarely to 95.5. If he is going to pick a song though, he would definitely choose "Blackened" by Metallica. Though it didn't make the top 10, it is a great choice regardless. In the polling of 2,000 people, here's their Top 10 list of driving songs.
10. Oasis - "Wonderwall" (Great song, great to sing along to, thumbs up)
9. Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling" (Vomit)
8. Billy Joel - "Uptown Girl" (What year was this poll taken?)
7. ABBA - "Dancing Queen" (ABBA is always fun)
6. David Bowie - "Heroes" (Great Bowie song, makes me think of the Perks of Being a Wallflower changing this out with The Smiths "Asleep")
5. U2 - "Beautiful Day" (ZzZZZzzZz)
4. The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" (Should be higher on the list)
3. Pharrell - "Happy" (More like crappy)
2. Fleetwood Mac - "Go Your Own Way" (Great song)
1. Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Classic)
As for the roadies, we heard from Adam who was told to play Request Wars when he mentioned Midnight Oils "Beds Are Burning." For Samantha, it's definitely "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys. As for myself, it's hard to really pick just one thing in particular because as I said, I love to just sing along in the car and if I'm not driving or going somewhere important, that means I'm usually drunk in the car as well. I do also happen to love dance/house music in the car as well as it just helps feel the flow of the ride with the music.
So today was essentially music day here on Rock 95.5 and there was plenty of it to discuss. For example, between Thursday through yesterday, there was Guns N' Roses at Wrigley, Riot Fest for 4 days and, of course, Metallica at The Metro last night. I should also add that Angi also saw a ton of bands this weekend at the iHeart Festival as well, including Journey, Cheap Trick, Weezer and Angi's girlfriend Dua Lipa among a ton of others. This led to the big topic of the morning which was favorite concerts. Abe, who basically lived at concerts for ages, had two that come to mind. The first was Rage Against the Machine at Alpine Valley. The other big one for him was KIϟϟ, who were doing their reunion tour at the time. Now mind you, he saw Metallica at The Metro last night but he's also seen Guns N' Roses at the House of Blues. Well, not real Guns N' Roses but the lineup that included noted guitarist Buckethead. For Angi, it was the Monsters of Rock tour that we've heard her go on about plenty of times. The other was Outkast at Lollapalooza because she just loves them so very much. Brooke called in to say hers was Metallica last night. She was one of the roughly 1,000 or so people at the show and it was so good and super intimate. She was 4th in line when the tickets were announced so she was in and got to revel in the amazingness of it all. Abe had a question for Brooke, wondering if she was wet after the show? Okay, mind out of the gutter you pigs, he meant from sweat. Like, he was literally dripping in sweat by the time he walked out (and had that drink that was spilled all over him.) Brooke did sweat as well and was pretty hung over today. Also mentioned was the smell you get on you when you're at a small venue. It's a combination of sweat and ass because people are scumbags. Abe though is known for his showering before concerts and Angi, well she is known for showering after concerts. Jordan's choice was seeing Van Halen at the Aragon. Kelly's choice was Pantera and Rob Zombie. Mike (who was full of jokes) talked about a Paul McCartney show that he saw. He also added in the KIϟϟ reunion tour which was high up on Abe's list. Mike had to actually go on a road trip to see the show so that was another fun journey. Another Mike called to say his favorite was seeing Ozzy and Motörhead on the Crazy Train tour. For me, mine was amazing and bittersweet all at once. It was ironically the last concert I went to before covid got big and it was Möngöl Hörde which is a hardcore punk band fronted by Frank Turner (who himself is normally a folk/rock singer songwriter.) It was incredible because it was the band's first show in the U.S. and they played Subterranean, which was like 150/175 people at the show. Insane, incredible and just so intimate and fun. This was bittersweet though because it was the last concert I saw with my best friend who would end up dying about a year and a half later.
Finally, though I vaguely explored it off the bat in the opening of these secondary notes, I have a bit more on Angi's Vegas "work" trip. Though most of the time was spent being the "Voice of God" for the iHeart Music Festival (more on that in a moment,) Angi did find time to actually gamble. With the hour a day she actually had to herself, Angi went to the blackjack tables to gamble away all her money. When seated at the table, she was seated at first base (for those who are unfamiliar, this is the first seat to the left of the dealer.) Her want and reason for taking this position was that she wants to be the one who is getting the first card and also because Angi doesn't trust anyone. As I mentioned earlier, she ended up walking out with $1,200 which I'm sure she immediately spent at the liquor store on Jack Daniels and scratchies when she got home. Anyway, Angi was in Vegas because she was the "Voice of God" aka the voiceover announcer at the iHeart Music Festival. Basically this means that she spent 8 hours talking non stop (which was still affecting her voice this morning as well.) Not only did her voice give out but also the moment she stepped off the plane, her allergies went absolutely bonkers. However, there were good moments at the fest, including her being able to watch Journey's full set as they were the headliner and final band on the last day of the fest. She had never had the chance to see them before and so she was excited and really enjoyed their performance. Also part of Angi's backstage obsession was Dua Lipa, who is super hot and more than likely has a restraining order on Angi after this past weekend. Another band she found super enjoyable was Cheap Trick. While the show was broadcast live on the iHeart and CW app, the entire show will be broadcast live on The CW on October 2nd and 3rd. Abe had to add his own element to this overall recap and explained how the water in Vegas just makes his hair look great. Ironically, it does the opposite for Angi and makes her look like crap. Turning back to the show, Angi gave some insight on the backstage stuff. For example, there were tons of artists backstage doing vocal warmups, stretching and artists gassing each other up and freaking out over each other. It should be said that Cheap Trick though was not having it and would not allow pictures. Angi was also asked to jump in on an interview as the "Voice of God," which she was none too thrilled about. Angi btw is known as a professional blackjack player but she did find a moment to play Wheel of Fortune, knowing it would appease Abe. She won nothing and never tends to win on slots so she hates playing them. Abe loves them because he won $1,000 on the way home once. This was nothing compared to his friend Danny Gaga, who almost won 3.7 million on Wheel of Fortune (but won nothing because of course he did.)
Request Wars 2.0:
Champion: Abe (Streak: 1)
Angi's (repping Megan) Song Choice: "Harvester of Sorrow"
Abe's (repping Katie) Song Choice: "Jump in the Fire"
Observation: Megan and Katie both missed the show last night for different reasons and both were suffering. Megan was first in line and forgot her vax card, Katie was in line and then lost her wallet. These two lying idiots are hilarious but either way we get some Metallica.
Winner: Angi
10 o'Clock Toast:
Metallica. They put on an incredible show last night and Rock 95.5 is the only station in the city that plays Metallica and the only station in the world that had wristbands for last night's Metro show.
Show Quotes and Tidbits:
Quote: "Hey man (Abe,) wanna see my snake? It's in my car." - Angi
Duo Quote:
"I (Katie) was in tears." - Abe
"Figures, Abe making girls cry." - Angi
PSAbe: No matter what, you can't make people happy.
PSAbe: Abe is backing The Red Rifle.