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home » festivals » Standon Calling » Standon Calling 2010
Face paint, rain and murder mystery mayhem at Standon CallingStandon Calling 2010 reviewFriday 13th August 2010 Face paint, rain and murder mystery mayhem – this perfectly sums up the second day of Standon Calling's 10th anniversary festival in Hertfordshire. I arrived late on the Friday night and immediately realised that the set-up from last year had completely changed – walking through the tenting area to find a camping spot it was apparent that everything was more spread out and the tiny intimate camping area from last year was now an impressive spread out affair with 'quiet camping' at one section away from the arena, and solar showers as well as a lot more toilets dispersed throughout the campsite. Saturday had a quiet start, as the acts didn't start until midday and considering this is one of the few festivals that have multiple DJs playing until 6am, I can safely presume that a lot of sore heads were being rested in their tents. My group and I wandered into the main section to get our bearings and I was really pleasantly surprised – I have to admit that when I realised the campsite was bigger, I was very worried that the boutique festival I had fallen in love with last year had gone down the commercial road and lost its charm.
As the theme this year was 'Murder on The Standon Express' a fake little town had been set up within the festival including a functional Sweeney Todd's barber shop and a Baker Street style stage tent. There was actual theatre interaction going on as people were given clues to solve a murder surrounding the case of 'Lord Bingham'. I didn't get involved in working out the mystery that surrounded the weekend but we saw other people on the lookout for clues and it all seemed very exciting and well thought out! I caught Revere first, a band I had never previously heard off, which turned out to be one of my favourite acts of the weekend. They have a very current sound which isn't boring – the lead singer often sounded like Tom, the lead singer from The Editors with his theatrical, deep voice. The band also had traces of Arcade Fire sounds throughout their set, making a lot of their tunes sound quite epic – definitely one to look up if you like the above acts.
I wandered up past the outdoor swimming pool, which was surrounded with lounging bodies bopping along to the poolside DJ's tracks, despite the dark skies and gloomy weather. It was about 3.30pm and the festival site was really starting to fill up, giving me my first real glimpse of the crowd... and what a beautiful crowd it was this year!
I noticed there were a lot more kids this year too, right down to tiny babies but it never seemed a problem and as there was a specific painting area, as well as the 'Little Den', which was filled with a Punch and Judy Show and children's activities, it seemed like I was witnessing some of the happiest kids I have ever seen.
When the guys finished I was starting to feel out of place as I ambled out into the festival because of my lack of costume so a quick visit back to the tent ensued and I emerged as pink panther, feeling a lot more in tune with proceedings.!
As the rain beat relentlessly down, more and more people huddled under the safety of the massive Oak tree. We were all relatively dry and quite happily mingled together chatting to each other until the rain ceased.! Scottish group The Phantom Band played to a packed tent and really got the night kicking off to a rocking start. They had so many instruments onstage that I couldn't keep up, and their music was mixed with fast-paced beats, differing pitches and theatrical sounds – quite frankly it was a sterling performance, which was aided by the lead singer being completely charming. This band is really musically talented and had the tent going wild. They've definitely gained a fan in me and I have a strong feeling that this is just the start for them.!
I have to give a special mention to the girls in the band because they really know how to rock out and looked every bit the part with their dark denim and leather boots. They gave a great show which was received well but it wasn't the most 'pumping' of music for the Saturday night.!
They thrashed out a rock-heavy set to the overflowing tent and injected a massive dose of heavy sounds into the night air – if you're not into thick, indie-rock sounds then this definitely would not have been for you but I loved it and their performance of 'Lucifer' was a definite festival plus.! I ended the evening in the cowshed club, Camp Alcatraz, and I loved that they had completely changed the set-up of the building to last year although the DJs were still above the crowds looking down. I actually spoke to someone I know after the festival and he (Pete Wheeler & Wellsy) was djing while Buena Vista was on and described it as his best DJing experience ever.!
Needless to say, me and my boyfriend stocked up from the bar, plonked ourselves on a comfy sofa and nodded our heads to the beats of Radioproof who was playing an eclectic mix of old and new dance tracks.! A middle-aged gentleman commented that we looked like the most comfortable, content people on earth, and he couldn't have been more right! review by Fiona Madden photos by Fiona Madden
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