Words by Kate Lockyer
Photography by Elizabeth Sharpe | @ummagummamumma
My introduction into intricate and grand alternative pop was initiated last night by the enigmatic overshare that was Montell Fish’s music. But appearing onstage first was dj gummy bear, his musical alter ego, who he created to be able to explore more abstract electronic sounds. Combining the two made for a night of varied musical expression.
Australian artist exxy opened the show with magical dreamy synth that had the crowd swaying with quiet energy. In his own words from Instagram, exxy described his music on this tour as “hybrid, ambient, sit down, stare at the ceiling sets”, and that pretty much sums it up. Usually when I go to a gig, it’s to dance and sing a little, but it was nice to be present in this trance-like world he created. That said, the best setting for his music would be far different in my mind. Let me set the scene: at home, the lights down low, on the couch D&M-ing with your friends.
Then, Montell Fish / dj gummy bear bounded out, a hooded figure silhouetted by the stage lights in a visual setting he would use throughout the night to great effect. Rapping his newly released track FREESTYLE 01, he was full of energy, and the crowd responded, reflecting his hype back.
This, along with Every Night and Same Shit, which both featured assertive, quick-paced rapping and an audience jumping and screaming, punctured the other side of his musical style, which I’m calling bedroom pop/r&b. I’m calling it that because of the intimacy of the lyrics and their stripped-back feel (although the live performance had a bit more body to them).
At first glance, the lyrics are (in his words) horny and all about tumultuous interpersonal relationships, but Fish has dug deeper than that. Introducing Talk 2 Me, he said his move to New York four years ago was the catalyst for him processing a lot of things, including a breakup and his religious upbringing. He said a lot of the songs off this album (‘JAMIE’) have a double meaning – in this light, the song is not just about a person but his relationship with God as he sings: “Talk to me / Why don’t you talk to me? / Like you used to.” He jumped on the mic for this one, putting his guitar aside as his bandmate played a guitar part that seemed to expand and hover in golden waves over our heads while Fish bared his inner thoughts to us.
Some of Fish’s music travelled a breadth of moods and styles in a single song, moving from echoey, brassy, gothic-sounding guitar, to popping synth, to balladeering piano in i cant tell (love my money) (and I mean he had an upright piano onstage). He would swoop from tremulous falsetto into a lower octave and back again within a few lines, and change gears from defiant and challenging to melancholic like he was flipping a coin. In Darling, he sang, “Did you fall out of love, my darling?” to soft piano chords, stark against the blue stage, before summoning crashing guitar and drums. His experimentation was refreshing, keeping us guessing about where a song would take us next.
His more outlandish vocalising felt very Prince, as did his falsetto, his flair for the dramatic, and refusal to shy away from lyrics that might reveal too much. But also, when I say vocalising, I mean screaming into the mic, which can be electrifying, but I feel he missed the mark just slightly in trying to pull this off. There were a few other moments where I thought he needed just a bit more polish, too, with a few mistimed chords on the piano and just a couple of lines that had slurred vocals, presumably intended to be for emotional effect. Not to mention rhyming ‘poet’ with ‘know it’, a choice I found quite funny. But a couple of seconds out of a couple of hours was a drop in the ocean of a fascinating, emotionally connected and deeply entertaining show.
As an all-ages show, the demographic was overwhelmingly the TikTok generation, which was reflected in the song lengths as well, often shorter than your average three minutes. When I arrived, there was a line of teenage girls all the way around the block, and it was a little jarring to see Fish singing about messing with someone in a hotel room to a bunch of 16-year-olds and their mums. In fact, despite their enthusiasm, the crowd was so young they apparently didn’t know how to call for an encore, with a puzzled silence greeting the end of What’s it Take to be a Star? which was hard to watch. They were clearly keen for more music, they just didn’t know what was meant to happen next. Eventually, someone shouted “encore!” and the screams rebooted, and Fish came back out to finish with some of his most popular songs, with a bluesy beat for Fall In Love With You., and the risqué Hotel and Bathroom.
Just before the encore, Fish reflected on self-belief and what it means to be successful. “There’s power in believing in yourself,” he said. “Tell yourself you’re a motherfucking star. Sometimes you don’t have to reach millions of people – millions of people are wack as fuck!” Then he thanked his fans for their support of him: “I’m so grateful to be here. You made my dreams come true.”
Thanks to Frontier Touring
