There was an intimacy that felt almost forbidden, as if we’d stumbled into the confessions of a tormented soul. Montell Fish beckoned everyone into his world, baring his heart through raw, aching lyrics and addressing his fans with a soft, intimate, “Baby”. Montell Fish didn’t just captivate; he soothed and healed a few broken souls along the way.
Montell Fish is an artist for the generations. The emotional intimacy he offered the crowd was returned to him tenfold. With shifting melodies, dynamic tones and raw lyrics, Montell led us on an emotional odyssey. Much like the name of his tour, The Dream Deer Tour, his soundscapes unfolded like a lucid dream.
Capturing the vulnerability and obsessive longing of romantic relationships while also delving into the crushing depth of heartbreak and emptiness, Montell Fish had his adoring Melbourne fans singing and swaying along in unison. In some twisted beautiful way, it felt like therapy for the soul. The atmosphere shifted and swelled as raw voices joined Montell’s, creating an enchanting, almost cathartic, chorus that lingered in the air. The mood turned dark and looming during ‘Distraction’, then burst into synchronised clapping for ‘Who Did You Touch Last Night’, only to pull us further into his emotional odyssey. ‘Talk 2 Me’ deepened the fragile connection, which left the crowd baring their souls to its aching vulnerability as the slow-burning beats and sorrowful delivery of ‘Pretend Lovers’ washed over the Forum Melbourne venue, the night became something to fully embrace.
While ‘Same Shit’ required a bit of crowd coordination and a re-do, the energy remained electric. A playful contrast to the brooding intimacy that defined most of the evening. As the show drew to a close with his final pre-encore track, ‘What’s It Take to Be a Star’, Montell Fish left us with a simple yet powerful reminder: dreams aren’t dead – keep chasing.
Shifting himself to what felt more like an intimate conversation between friends, Montell Fish offered three introductions for his final encore tracks. Dedicating them “For all my good girls, for my naughty girls, and for my dirty, downright filthy girls”. What could have felt demeaning in lesser hands became unexpectedly tender under Montell’s charm, setting the stage for fan-favourites ‘Fall in Love with You’, ‘Hotel’ and ‘Bathroom’.
At times, it felt trippy, like floating inside a lucid dream suspended between heartbreak and healing. And in that strange weightless space, every soft whispered “baby” felt deeply personal, yet completely untethered from reality. With Montell Fish’s haunting soundscapes and raw emotions, this wasn’t just a show, this was his artistic dream.
From start to finish, the atmosphere in the Forum Melbourne felt dreamlike, where lo-fi visuals flickered like distant memories across the stage, while the moody dim lighting rippled over the crowd. With strobe lights sliced through the haze, and casting fleeting shadows, this created a beautifully disorientated effect, as though we were slipping between dimensions with one foot grounded, the other lost in Montell Fish’s surreal world.
From his growing fame on TikTok, Montell Fish captivated his Melbourne audience across two sold-out nights at Forum Melbourne on Saturday May 10th and Sunday May 11th, as part of his highly anticipated The Dream Deer Tour, proudly presented by MG Live, I OH YOU and Frontier Touring.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.frontiertouring.com/montellfish
https://www.instagram.com/montellfish
Photography by Alexander Kndall.
