Hofbrauhaus: Beer steins, communal singing and widespread glee

A few years ago, when Celine Dion was touring, but after she ended at the Colosseum, I flew to Nashville to see her headline at Bridgestone Arena. Las Vegas baritone sax great Eric Tewalt was in her band at the time, and on stage that night.

A few nights after I returned, I dropped into Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas. The Biermeister Band was in full flourish, pumping the the polka. Beer steins, communal singing and widespread glee were the scene. And wearing the lederhosen, baritone sax great Eric Tewalt.

Hofbrauhaus has deceptively high-caliber, good-time music, is the point. The Biermeister Band plays 5-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 6-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. No cover. Hofbrauhaus was a favorite hang of Siegfried & Roy from the moment the place opened in January 2004.

And, the place has returned its Oktoberfest-themed, keg-tapping lineup, with Strip favorite (and Clark County Commissioner) Tick Segerblom kicking off the season Sept. 5. Radio personality Chet Buchanan, The Strat ventriloquial star Terry Fator and our own JJ Snyder have been tapped to tap this weekend. The Friday-Saturday night events run through Nov. 1.