Standon Calling Review

Arriving deep in the Hertfordshire countryside, basically in someone’s back garden, it was easy to panic and think the tiny site was too small and was never going to live up to the hype. You can walk round the whole place in under 20 minutes. It’s literally the opposite of Glastonbury. But you quickly realise that the small scale is not just part of the charm, it allows the festival to be so unique and inclusive and that what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in substance. It also makes a refreshing change to be able to flit between stages, hang out on the grass without losing your mates for three hours, and especially to wake up with a refreshing dip in a heated pool. Aah the pool, where friendships were forged, potential talent was sourced and a guy in a shark attack costume was in his element.

Another unique selling point of this ’boutique’ festival is the theme and the effort that the fantastic crowd put in. Saturday is fancy dress day, and who doesn’t love a bit of fancy dress? ‘Gods and Monsters’ took on many guises and it was commonplace for Vishnu to be supping warm vodka from the God Of Wine’s nipples or a sea goddess snogging a packet of monster munch. On top of that, the music was pretty good too. While not the most commercial of lineups, artist booker Tamsin McLarty has a great ear for the next big thing. And while the music is not the major focus of the weekend for most people, top moments came in the form of Hypnotic Brass Ensemble’s rudeboy tuba action which got the Sunday crowd going in a rare glimpse of sunshine. DJ Derek, perenially popular pensioner, worked his reggae magic in the JW Horsebox. Chrome Hoof couldn’t have found a more fitting home than the main stage in their space age, crazy costumes. Bok Bok brought back the cool factor with an hour of industrial post-dubstep on Friday night. But it was an unashamedly cheesy DJ set by Mystery Jets in the cowshed nightclub, featuring corkers such as ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac and ‘Africa’ by Toto, which brought proceedings to a rapturous but way-too-soon close.

Once you’ve been to Standon Calling, you feel like you’ve joined a secret society. Like you’ve all experienced something that little bit special, like you’ve all been on a brilliant school trip. Maybe it was because we were all constantly covered in a layer of gold glitter. Whatever it was, I’m a fully fledged member and will not be missing this little gem next year.

By Hannah Beesley
Twitter: @hjbees

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