Rescue Rooms host one of the most unique and entertaining live bands out there...
The smoke machine gave birth to a thin layer of mist, which wrapped around the Rescue Rooms’ empty stage as I walked in. The atmosphere, one of desolate moors onto which Henge’s spacecraft would descend.
The pilotfish (to use a Doctor Who term) for this intergalactic invasion were Elf Traps, an electronic/jazz/improv duo from Manchester. Consisting of Liviu Gheorghe on synths and Rob Turner on drums, they make the most tremendous sound.
Elf Trap’s set is a 45-minute sonic exploration of the universe. Tracks seamlessly blend into each other, leaving no room for applause until the very end. Turner’s live drumming breakbeats and percussion carry Gheorghe’s electronic soundscape into hyperspace.
It is astonishing that Nottingham is only their second live show ever! They are surely a band to look out for in future, with a debut record coming sometime in 2023.
20:15 earth hours and Henge descend onto the stage - human synth maestro Grok, Venusian bassist Goo, drummer Nom (from an unknown planet out there) and vocalist Zpor are a sight to behold for the uninitiated. Zpor resplendent in robes and his plasma ball hat stares manically into the crowd before greeting the packed Rescue Rooms with “Greetings Humans!”
What follows is one if the most fun gigs I have ever had a fortune of attending. Tracks Exo, Goldilocks, and Get Outta Ma House from the band’s 2020 album ExoKosm have the crowd bouncing. Zpor’s voice is heavily modulated at times, which seems to transmit far beyond the confines of the Rescue Rooms and out into the Universe. Henge aren’t all about partying though and they do bring a message of salvation to us humans.
The Great Venusian Apocalypse, from Henge’s 2017 debut EP Cosmic Dross, is a stark warning on global warming from the perspective of Grok’s former home planet Venus, which was once habitable many millennia ago but destroyed by its wasteful inhabitants. The show comes to an end with the hopeful Demilitarise, with the audience singing loud, it’s message to the world.
Henge are one of the most unique and entertaining live bands out there at the moment, and the sort of act that is made to seen live and in person. I highly recommend seeing them on there current UK tour with Elf Traps, there is something very special happening there.
I close with the words of Zpor. "WE DEMAND THAT THE WEAPONS OF WAR, ARE MANUFACTURED NO MORE, DEMILITISE. WE DEMAND THAT WE HAVE IN ITS PLACE, THE MEANS TO UNITE AND COLONIZE SPACE."
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