Gig Review: HENGE at Rescue Rooms

Reviewing a HENGE show is a uniquely challenging prospect, simply because it is not remotely akin to any gig that I have ever attended on this planet. For one, this is a band who bill themselves as from the far-reaching corners of the cosmos. Zpor, the bands lead singer and spokesperson to the human race, originates from Agricular in Cosmos Redshift 7, whilst the group also sports members from Xylanthia, Venus, and a solitary earthling. Naturally, given their unusual origins, the band also have a unique style of music, which they have coined “Cosmic Dross”. To the human ear, it can best be described as a mixture of the chiptune found in 90s video games, combined with the driven basslines and non-linear song structures of some of their earthly contemporaries such as Snapped Ankles and Warmduscher.

Not to be outdone, support act Dog Show provided an equally strange yet enrapturing performance. Rather than performing on stage, the two-piece, both dressed as poodles, brought a contraption which they called the “music-machine” into the centre of the audience, and used it to play a show which was part DJ set, part Zumba class. The in-the-round format was used to create conga lines around the dogs, as well as other intricate dance moves that the band were more than happy to indulge. In order to be a HENGE support act, it does not suffice to simply go out and play it straight. Dog Show did anything but, and for that, they should be greatly commended.

Coming out on stage, the first immediately noticeable thing is the costumes which the band don. The reptilian masks worn by the group’s alien members are reminiscent of an early-era Doctor Who villain, whilst the hat worn by Zpor, which sports a plasma ball which supposedly is a representation of his brain, can convince you that you well and truly are living in the world they are creating. Central to making a gimmick such as HENGE’s work is commitment to the bit, and they spared no expense in providing details that allowed the audience to suspend their disbelief.

Of course, this would all be for nothing if the performances did not match the ambition of the set dressing. Fortunately, this is not at all the case, as Zpor takes the Rescue Rooms crowd on a spellbinding trip around the cosmos - literally, if he is to be believed, as early in the set, he announces that the venue is indeed a spaceship. This is paired with the in-song distortion of the vocals, which are truly otherworldly. Furthermore, this feeling is complemented by the setlist, which does not simply work as a set of songs, but a narrative akin to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Early songs in the setlist included Blast Off and Slingshot, which detail the process, a whistle stop tour of space’s quirkiest characters. Altered State details the bizarre drugs that can be found outside of Earth, whilst Self Repair Protocol introduces the audience to a malfunctioning robot who’s having to fix himself.

When the band come into their own, however, is in their use of their characters to comment on the relevant social issues on Earth. The one-two punch of The Great Venusian Apocalypse, which details the extinction of Venus’ population as a result of climate change, and Get A Wriggle On, which encourages humanity to avoid the same fate, provide a unique but compelling argument for climate action, whilst In Praise of Water shines a light on the importance of maintaining our most basic need. The messaging gets complete, however, with the closer, Demilitarise: an anthemic track which repeats a demand to stop producing weapons of war. Whilst the calls to “colonise space” - no matter how tongue-in-cheek they may be - sat oddly with me given the more pressing issues that humanity faces, it was nonetheless rousing to see a room full of people, led by the oddest ringleaders imaginable, chanting such a powerful message. In this moment, HENGE showed the power that lies within absurdity. There is no right way to put a message forward, and in a scene which is rife with grounded, melancholy commentators on the state of the world, this oddball four-piece prove that this isn’t at all mandatory.