The Maccabees play news songs at Standon Calling

United Kingdom | | 04 August 2008

The Maccabees played their first UK festival headline set at Standon Calling on Saturday night (2 Aug) and treated fans to new songs.

The Brighton band littered their performance with new songs, including set opener 'No Kind Words', giving fans a taster of their forthcoming second record in between favourites such as 'Latchmere', 'X-Ray' and 'First Love'.

Before hurriedly finishing the set, singer Orlando Weeks thanked the crowd, sending them "all nice things".

Other bands that featured across the eclectic line-up included Glasvegas, Melt Banana and the Mae Shi, with the latter proving one of the stand-out sets of the weekend.

Singer/guitarist Jeff Byron started the show playing from the crowd before joining his LA bandmates on stage, although he repeatedly jumped back over the barrier, much to the audience's delight as the band tore through their punky debut.

As usual, festival goers were encouraged to dress up, with this year's theme being Japan. Outfits ranged from ninjas to "Japandas", with a group dressed as Battle Royale being crowned eventual champions.

Whilst the music and other entertainment provided was of excellent quality, the same couldn't be said for the weather, which became more miserable as the weekend progressed. Rain ruled the skies on sunday although it didn't dampen spirits.

Although the event was close to reaching its 2500 capacity, it felt much smaller with a truly initimate atmosphere. One reveller said: "It's like a home from home, you don't get this sort of community spirit at other festivals."