Standon Calling was the small festival that suprisingly had loads more to offer than first meets the eyes and ears. With a quirky yet relaxed atmosphere, with an array of colourful fancy dress costumes to see, it was clear that everyone was having loads of fun this year. All six superbly named stages, were lined up with performers to suit a wide variety of taste. There was no need for wellies and it was easy to relax and sprawl out on the field and enjoy the music long after the sun had said goodnight and the colourful lighting came out to play.
Howard Marks was the headliner performer who attracted a crowd on the Friday night that stretched far beyond the edges of the Literary Lounge. Everyone that managed to squeeze themselves under the tent sat cross-legged intently listening to the stories that Howard told whilst some interesting smells lingered in the air. The giggles continued throughout his performance and the spirits were set high for the weekend ahead.
It seemed that many of the costumes had been saved by the festival goers for the sake of impact on Saturday. The fields were swarming with tigers twirling their tails, cupid shooting arrows, monsters snarling, wolves howling, fairies fluttering their wings and lions roaring to sounds and beats of the entertainment.
Whilst all six stages had their own sense of style and were suited to certain music genres, some of the most anticipated music acts were held on the festival’s ‘Main Stage’. Saul Williams who has recently worked with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performed a soul shaking set . Saul’s performance spoke of the ideals of rebellion that had a strong relevance since this was the weekend following the UK riots.
The trip hop and drum and bass inspired band Lamb followed Saul’s performance to end the night of music on the ‘Main Stage’. The build up to their appearance was spectacular, ‘the weird grey wall thing’, that had previously been just been some sort monument to the concept of boring started to move: the top of it opened up, smoke bellowed and coloured laser beams shone into the night sky. Lou Rhodes told the audience that she was there “by the power of lemsip” and had wanted to wear her backwards dress for the performance but since she had a cold was wrapped up in her favourite cardigan. Despite the illness, Lou’s voice was impressive and inspirational along with the backing of the mixture of jazz, drum and bass and breaks that makes their sound distinctive.
‘Twisted Licks’ hosted a variety of bands over the weekend, some of which had travelled from Canada and America to treat us to their raw sounds and underground attitudes. ‘Born Ruffians’ made their statement early on the stage and set the standard for the night by getting the crowd moshing and showing the UK how to rock out Toronto style. The Saturday night of live bands was ended with beautifully composed music and strong and impressionable performances from all members of the band Hercules and Love Affair who originally started out in New York.
The DJ sets carried on into the early hours of the morning and although the end of the festivalwas nearing, the atmosphere and fun filtered onto the final day of music and entertainment. Sound of Rum front girl really got the crowd back on their feet during the Sunday afternoon with her gutsy attitude and rhyming lyrics she spat with passion.
All performances of the day were full of personality and as the evening appraoched the sophistication of the music grew with it. Penguin Cafe impressed the crowd with their emotionally enlightening performance that has evolved from years of dedication to the art of music.
Overall the 2011 Standon Calling experience had a certain charm that won’t be found at any other festival, little or large. The relaxed and fun loving attitudes of the people who were there made it special.
