I’m not usually one for midweek shows, but when a band has come all the way from a faraway planet, I felt the need to make an effort and get myself to The Phoenix in the heart of Exeter to catch a band called HENGE.

The theme was very much ‘weird and wonderful’ at the venue, as the bar filled with robots, mushroom headed females and sequinned space punks, it was clear that tonight wasn’t going to be your average ‘run of the mill’ show. At one point, I looked around the bar to see a man dressed in a shiny jacket, a top hat, carrying a skateboard, whether or not he had skated to the show or maybe it was one of those ‘hover boards’ from Back To The Future 2?

The last time I saw HENGE was at Beautiful Days Festival in 2018, John Robb walked on stage to introduce them and the rest was a blur of acid tinged space techno, very much from another planet. There were dancing mushrooms, aliens playing drums and keyboards (Goo, Grok & Nom) and of course, the frontman (Zpor). I hoped that tonight would be a rerun of the show I saw back then as it really was ‘out of this world’.

The first act on stage was a live DJ called SHUNYA, mixing up homemade beats, looping sounds and playing a violin and bass guitar whilst adding vocals here and there, it was as much a feast for the eyes as it was for the ears. His tracks started slowly and gradually built until the room was bouncing along to something akin to a live set by Underworld.

After his set, The Roominator took over, filling the auditorium with some full on trippy, acid tinged techno, the sort of sounds you’d expect to hear emanating from the bass bins of a Spiral Tribe show circa early 1990’s (I’m showing my age now!).

HENGE are currently touring their latest release, EXOKOSM and will be on the road (though I think they would probably take the mothership) until the end of January 2022 taking in the majority of the UK as well as most countries throughout Europe (with a few breaks in-between to visit their home planet to get fresh clothing etc.)

As the band took to the stage, the room worshipped the stage as Zpor strode in, staff in hand, scanning the room, blessing everyone who had made the effort to come along and take part in this social experiment where they would unleash their ‘Cosmic Dross’ onto us mere earthlings in an attempt to please us and make us purchase their merchandise. Talking about merchandise, I was glad to see a selection of T-Shirts, records, CD’s and even a couple of comic books that looked amazing, I was also pleased to see that they were happy to accept UK sterling and cards as well as other intergalactic currencies. I did try and trade some acorns for a T-Shirt but sadly, they wouldn’t accept it (clearly they’ve never been to Totnes on a Friday where traders will happily fix your bike or give you a hug in exchange for a painted acorn! (Hey, this is Totnes, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!)

Having to use an interpretation device (which sounded strangely like a megaphone) Zpor introduced the band and explained how the evening would work, after a song, the audience would show their appreciation by clapping and cheering and the more that this went on, the longer the band would play. Occasionally, Zpor did slip into his native tongue which confused the room but he would snap out of it when the audience were looking a little dumbfounded.

Tracks from the set included ‘Goldilocks’, ‘Mushroom One’ (without the mushroom dancers I recall from the 2018 festival show), ‘Fix Myself’ and ‘Get a Wiggle On’ which sounded like a kids TV show from the 1970’s with the ‘wiggly’ keyboard sounds bouncing around the room.

Highlights from the set for me included the heavy synth freak-out which was ‘In Praise of Water’ along with their final offering ‘Demilitarise’ which saw the non-alien keyboard player holding aloft signage so the audience could sing along, how he managed to get them in order throughout the song was beyond me, clearly, he’s well versed in Earthling audience interaction.

Some may see HENGE as a parody band, something you might happen upon at a festival to kill the time but think again people of earth, their music blends the classic sounds of Hawkwind, the lighter techno vibes of The Chemical Brothers and other such luminaries from the UK dance music scene and the fact that they can play their instruments very well indeed just sealed it for me.

Whatever you think about the band, they certainly put on a killer show and if you’re yet to see them live, make every effort to do so as they don’t come to earth very often and to miss them would be a real shame.

Words and Pictures by Steve Muscutt