Last night was a pretty fun evening. My brother won some tickets from WRUW, so it was "F-R-E-E, that spells free". And yes, it was the return of Brave Combo to the venerable Beachland Ballroom. The floor was cleared for dancing, and there were some who took advantage. I like the Beachland for they have Old Grand-Dad and many beers I like.

Brave Combo have been around for 30 years now, and although they state they are more than a polka band, there were plenty of polkas to keep everyone happy. But the styles they played were many. I heard: Polka, Tejano, Zydeco, Rock, Cumbia, Salsa, Country, Cha Cha, Tex-Mex, Blues, Meringue and even Klezmer.

They started with "Down At the Friendly Tavern", a Happy Dog favorite. You know, "Down at the friendly tavern, everyone's happy there."

A Cha cha version of "Louie, Louie"

A "Purple Haze, the Jimi Hendrix Polka".

"Ode to Joy" was done as a Bach waltz. Ah, Bach.

A "Peter Gunn/Pink Panther/Get Smart" medley.

Shoutouts to Cleveland-style polkas with "Just Because" and a couple of tunes from legends Stan Blout and Eddie Blazonczyk. Oh, and there were obetics, too.

"The Hokey Pokey" was performed, as well.

"The Tsamikos" was there if you wanted to get your Greek on. Without going to war, of course.

"Over The Rainbow" was a nice song-along.

As was "The Happy Wanderer" When was the last time you sang "Valderi, valdera"?

All I know is, last night at the Beachland, everyone was happy there.

Meal of Links

Roger Ebert with another brilliant review. "G.I. Joe" gets skewered.

Good tips on how to make that playlist rock. If you have the time, of course.

Seth MacFarlane says he would like to end "Family Guy" sooner than later. I ran into a rerun I hadn't seen the other day and thought it very funny.

Exercise Yard

Shaun Smith cut by the Browns. Yawn.

Visitor

36 Across: Washington address (15 letters) Answer: Mister President