I've had the pleasure of seeing Russell and TOFOG three times in Brisbane between Wednesday and Sunday. Each in a very different venue with varied sound and audience dynamics. The band has shown professionalism and talent on all three occasions.

The Judith Wright Centre is one of my favourite venues in Brisbane and suited TOFOG very well last Wednesday, so I had a great night. This is an intimate performance space where the table seating is very civilised allowing concert goers to chill out with a drink during the performance.

Even those in the tiered seating were treated to a fantastic view. I've said before that Darren is a great warm up act for this band, a true talent, a genuinely nice guy and once again I was not disappointed. I guess next time Darren is in Brisbane he'll be sure to "take the train".

Tofog presented a show which was musically tighter and more polished since my last viewing at Byron Bay. I like the fact that Chris on guitar and Stuart Hunter on keys now have an opportunity to showcase their talent. And I shouldn't have been surprised when I recognised something of "Midnight Oil" in Bones' bass playing.

Its easy to be impressed by the acoustics at Judith Wright but I really do think this band has found a formula that works. The blend of the men's voices on "Mr Harris" is a pleasure to listen to, and Russell certainly has resolved those "off key" issues I have grumbled about in concerts prior to this year. I'm liking his growly voice that has found its range and pitch. I'm so glad the band has included more of its up tempo songs so that the audience enjoys a blend of thoughtful introspective songs interspersed with the rocking numbers. The repertoire is now extensive enough to provide the band with many choices.

The Queen St Mall show attracted several hundred shoppers on Saturday afternoon. Tofog ripped through 6 or 7 numbers with Russell giving short story introductions for tracks like Land of the Second Chance and What you Want me to Forget and including Testify with the finger snapping. This crowd was curious rather than animated but it was a good opportunity for the band to connect with the average non concert goer. There were tshirts and cds on sale and if you were happy to stand in line you got your tshirt and your cd signed. The band members were all seated at the table for maybe 45 minutes happily signing, smiling and talking to the public. Great to see Russell lean across the table and talk animatedly to one small boy with his mum for several mintues.

The Caxton St Festival on Sunday is an opportunity for Brisbanites to eat seafood, drink wine and beer, take in the beautiful autumn open air sunshine and listen to a line up of bands on two stages. We tried to ignore the rain clouds handing about. By the time Tofog hit the stage at 3.25pm the place was sardine packed with a good natured partying crowd, mostly aged under 30. Perfect. Pretty well most of the area in front of the stage resembled a typical "mosh". Russell and the band were in party mood.

They opened with Land of the Second Chance which "mentions Queensland twice and Rockhampton once". By the time the band got to the second "Queensland", Russell the Rainmaker had sung it to the threatening skies and the heavens opened. Now since we are desperate for rain in this town, the crowd took it in its stride, relished the respite from the humid weather and continued to listen to a concert that was "going off". Once the standard set was finished, the crowd were calling for more. We were treated to three encore numbers including Folsom Prison and Full Length of the River. The band looked like they were having fun and the audience lapped it up. Fantastic shared experience and a great finale to a long and exhausting tour for the band. And I had fun guys so thank you very much.

Dinkum Dilettante