Henge

Artists: Henge, Mr Vast

Venue: Sheffield: Sidney And Matilda

Date: 04 April 2025

"I first heard of Henge due to the internet. (How different the world would be without it.). I cannot remember if it was via video on YouTube or just audio from some place, but I remember thinking, 'who, and what, is this?'"

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I first heard of Henge due to the internet. (How different the world would be without it.) I cannot remember if it was via video on YouTube or just audio from some place, but I remember thinking “who, and what, is this”? I thought it was amusing and intriguing, reminding me quite a lot of the band ‘Gong’, only not as serious. They played quirky songs, but also the kind that get in your head, and when I found they were touring and playing about an hour away from home… well, I had to, didn’t I?

Now, the Sidney And Mildred is a venue I had never been to, and had never heard of, until I found out about this, and is so named due to it sitting on a corner of the crossing of Sidney St and Matilda St in Sheffield. It is hidden in a courtyard standing back off the road. It looks small.

It is small, but I’ve been in smaller. There is a bar room with seats and tables to wait in before the doors open, and fortunately, there is a merch stand, with quite a lot of stuff to be honest, to amuse ourselves looking at before the doors to the room are opened. Walking in, I would say it was probably around the size of The Rescue Rooms in Nottingham, to give you a rough idea. I have no idea how many it holds, or how many would turn up, although I had noticed the numbers had swelled a little since we arrived, but I still thought not that much. That would change.

There was support. Mr Vast. I had no idea; I assumed it was a band, but the equipment on stage didn’t look like it would be a band. I was right. What came on stage from out of the audience was what I can only describe as a walking boulder… with holes… and feet. And eventually hands and arms, and then a head popped through, with a rather long pointy hat. This was gonna be strange!

And strange it was, but it also turned out to be very, very funny. Utilising home-made props, most of which I can’t describe as I can’t come up with words that would suit, Mr Vast, which is the alter ego of a real person called Henry Sargeant, went on to give us thirty minutes of hilarious mayhem. It was like… well, I’m not sure what it was like really. The nearest thing I can compare it to is a musical version of physical comedian Spencer Jones, if you have heard of him, and whom I have seen numerous times, watching as he does weird things with strange objects. Mr Vast, however, also sings in a band called Wevie Stonder, and his own songs are incorporated in his show. One in particular was highly amusing, which, after asking “Are there any Scousers in tonight?”, turned out to be a medley of parts of songs by well-known bands from Liverpool. He had around six or seven costume changes (I lost count), and he wore a hat which was very refreshing. I will say no more, other than to say if you see his name advertised at a venue, then go and see him. You will laugh.

And so on to Henge, where just before they came on I realised the hall was full. (It was pretty much for Mr Vast towards the end, but I hadn’t really thought about it). It was in fact sold out, a factor that would make it very hot and sweaty as the night wore on. At Lord knows what time, Henge came on stage and took their places; three aliens, the leader and front-man Zpor (real name Matthew Whitaker), bass player Goo (Pete Turner), Nom (Sam Draper) on drums, and the human keyboard player, still with the strange name Grok (Roy Medhurst). After a while, Zpor/Matthew, who wears a weird hat with a plasma ball on top, explained that we were going on a journey to another world called “Voltus B”, which is basically the title of their last album (which has two endings, the vinyl version choosing itself which ending to play).

We were then taken through a choice selection of songs from their albums, and, quite frankly, the crowd went mad, with what basically turned into a mosh pit at the front of the stage just to the left of me, many of whom were wearing weird tin foil hats. I later found out the gig had sold out, so you can guess how that had an effect on everyone around them. All this activity naturally raised the temperature even more, until it was like being in a sauna. As an all-standing venue with no seats, I expected to see people keeling over, but they didn’t let up right to the end, at which point Zpor/Matthew came down into the audience, and didn’t reappear. I assumed that he hadn’t been transformed by the crowd, but had exited through the door we had all come in through, to be closely followed by the rest of his crew.

It was a different and somewhat strange evening, but great fun. Being a “Proggy”, it could be said I listen to “serious” music, in the sense it’s not stuff you would laugh at, or often feel cheered up after listening to it, but this stuff really appeals to me, very much like Bowling For Soup did when I saw them. They are not Bowling For Soup, but they are from another planet.

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Review: Andy B

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