A girl from a little town called Twin Peaks and a fabulous dress

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When I was growing up I wanted to be Laura Palmer. (If she was real of course. Please give my visionary, teenaged self some credit).

Even those who aren't Twin Peaks lovers will know this was a somewhat distorted ambition. Laura was, on the surface, a beautiful, popular high school student from a Pacific Northwest logging town. An only child seemingly adored by her parents, saccharine home-coming queen and selfless volunteer for the elderly. Yet lying nebulously beneath the golden-blonde veneer Laura was crazy wild, self-destructive and manipulative with a serious cocaine habit and well, let's just say a bit of a one. She did things that would turn anyone's hair white let alone her father's; just read her secret diary where any illusions of purity are brilliantly shattered. (No honestly do, it's eye-popping).

None of this was her fault of course, what with a possessed father and the weird and wonderful world that she and the other 51,201 residents (both existent and supernatural) inhabited. Despite this, Laura was smart and enigmatic with glossy 1950s pin-up looks and I imagined slipping into a kilt and soft cashmere jumper and mesmerizing just about everyone as she did in that mixed up little town.

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So any homage to Twin Peaks' tragic heroine piques my curiosity (Hi, Laura Palmer by Bastille). This includes my new favourite thing - the 'Laura Palmer's Theme' Dress.

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It is designed by the very talented Maria Soromenho, who first came to my attention back in 2013 with her first capsule collection and I have been following her with a fashion-hungry appetite ever since.

Gorgeously vampy and handmade with incredible attention to detail, the 'Laura Palmer’s Theme' Dress is the perfect statement piece. Ostensibly, from the back it is a sophisticated and classy little black dress; something good Laura might wear to the Double R Diner to meet James Hurley for a coffee or two.

Yet just like Laura herself, it can metamorphose with a turn of the body and swoosh of the hair. From the front its raw design is tough and punky with a strip of fierce black leather tassels that command your attention. This is very bad Laura, drinking at the Bang Bang Bar or running maniacally into night through the dark woods.

I absolutely love this dress. I would wear it with a bashed up pair of Chloé buckled leather ankle boots, an edgy cuff from & Other Stories and fiery MAC lipstick in Ruby Woo. The sounds of Angelo Badalamenti's ingenious compositions would be my inner soundtrack.

Of course, I need to wait for the right place to showcase this beauty and the Twin Peaks UK Festival sounds like a great place to start. With a number of devotees to the TV cult classic in attendance the dress is sure to be appreciated by the Peakies, who would note the similarities with the chic black dress and blood-red lipstick worn by Laura in the Black Lodge.

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Thank you Maria, you have created the perfect homage to Laura - beautiful, tough and intricate and a visual reminder that sometimes appearances are not what they seem...

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You can purchase the Laura Palmer's Theme Dress from Kuji Shop

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Julian Joseph - Masonic Temple, Andaz Hotel London, 11 July 2014

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'World-class jazz pianist with large-scale compositional skills and a passport to the contemporary-classic world' - The Guardian

There are some concerts that simply take your breath away.

Ellington at the Temple, performed by Julian Joseph as part of the City of London Festival, was unquestionably a breath-taker. A number of components made it an enchanting evening - the mystical venue, the unmitigated talent of the performer and the power of the music of Duke Ellington.

Julian Joseph was born in London and grew up amongst an exceptionally strong crop of British jazz musicians before taking up a scholarship at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in 1985. He is a noted solo performer as well as a prodigious composer and arranger of classical and jazz music for big band and strings, full symphony orchestra and opera. To add further to his accomplishments, he is also a respected broadcaster having presented jazz television series and several radio shows. He is also the recipient of a number of music awards, including his most recent accolade - a British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) Gold Badge for his contribution to the British music industry. Julian is also a trustee and vice-president of the National Youth Jazz Collective.

Writing

It is widely recognised that Duke Ellington was one of the greatest pianist and composers to have lived. However, it is perhaps less well known that he was a member of the secret society of the freemasons along with some other well-known African-American musicians including Dizzy Gillespie and Nat King Cole. So when a long dormant and beautifully opulent masonic temple, built in 1912, was recently discovered next to Liverpool Street station in London (now the very impressive Andaz Hotel) the City of London's Festival Director, Paul Gudgin, believed it would be 'a perfect place to play tribute' to Ellington.

So it was on a bustling Friday evening that I found myself cocooned in this elaborate, neo-classical venue as a guest of Jazz FM to witness a remarkable performance from Julian Joseph. A 'perfect place' indeed it was - a masonic temple with reportedly twelve types of marble and gold gilt, the space was remained forgotten and walled off for decades before it was rediscovered during a refurbishment of the hotel in the 1990s. A golden pipe organ, monochrome checkered floor laid in marble and hand-carved mahogany furniture evidenced the dramatic craftsmanship. Candles burned around the room to create a formidable yet terrific air of secrecy.

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Julian Joseph at the Masonic Temple, Andaz Hotel Liverpool Street for City of London Festival 2014 Credit: City of London Festival

My friend and I had the pleasure of bumping into Julian Joseph in the hallway minutes before the show began. He was cordial and thanked us for coming, a humble response given his status as one of the finest pianists to emerge this side of the Atlantic and a powerhouse in contemporary jazz for over two decades. So when he arrived into the room, with a 'Lovely to see you all' and 'Let's see what I have got for you, I already felt as if we were acquainted.

He took his seat at the grand piano and introduced the first song to be taken from Ellington's considerable repertoire, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me. His playing was dynamic and immediately compelling and the noise reverberated around the temple aided by the remarkable acoustics. It was almost the only sound that could be heard in the windowless but far from oppressing temple, aside from my pencil softly but frantically moving across the page of my notebook as I tried to capture the visual and audio experience without making any noise at all. To use an iPhone would have guaranteed silent note taking, but a smartphone was the antithesis to the beautiful surroundings and sensation of being present in another time.

Julian Joseph noted that the next song, Heaven from the Second Sacred Concert album was as equally as deceptive at the beginning and I agreed; the song changed pitch somewhere in the middle and I felt like I was listening to an entirely different song. It was played effortlessly with a depth and vitality that left the intimate audience of around sixty people enraptured, in effect our own little lodge worshipping the sound. Some people had their eyes closed while others elicited a satisfied murmur of approval. As for me, I couldn't conceal a contented smile. It felt somewhat esoteric to be part of the audience but there was no sense of exclusivity.

Guest's chairs for the evening were hand carved mahogany thrones conjoined in a circle around the room. One great throne faced the audience, also framed by candles, as if reserved for a Grand Master presiding over us all and listening to the music. My own throne afforded me a vantage point; as Julian Joseph played his fingers moved across the piano dexterously, as if possessed by the spirit of Ellington himself, and his feet tapped along to the rhythm of the music. The turquoise and gold-gilded domed ceiling loomed brilliantly above the piano, adorned with signs of the zodiac. A beautiful lightbulb in the shape of a stair and four great marbled lights in the shape of scales added a cryptic air.

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Julian Joseph at the Masonic Temple, Andaz Hotel Liverpool Street for City of London Festival 2014 Credit: City of London Festival

A Song for my Father was my favourite of the pieces performed that evening. With each pieceJulian Joseph performed he told an anecdote or provided an interesting narrative which embellished the music. Part way through the performance there was a mysterious clatter from somewhere behind the Grand Master's throne, and the official photographer and I looked at each other quizzically and grinned. I like to think the music roused the spirits; maybe it was a pantheon of the all time jazz greats expressing their pleasure of a man honouring their legacy with such skill and respect.

With one more beautiful piece played, Julian Joseph bowled graciously, smiled at his fraternity and left the room while the intimate audience kept up a steady stream of applause. 'That's a long way to go to make a point' he quipped as he returned for a well deserved encore before making his exit.

The biography on Julian Joseph's website provides a perfect synopsis.'The multi-faceted dimensions of his artistry are plain. As a pianist he is unsurpassed, as a composer he has brought new vitality to the music, and as a descendent of the jazz greats, he is not only fulfilling their legacy, but continues to honour their ground-breaking spirit into the twenty-first century.'

Ellington at the Temple enabled me to get lost in music, escape modem life for an hour or so and experience something so special. Julian Joseph is a true champion of the music.

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Credits
A special thank you to Paul Gudgin (City of London Festival Director), David Lasserson (Associate of Brunswick Arts Consulting LLP) and City of London Festival for assistance with this article and for the photographs as credited. 
References
  1. 2 July 2014 - the guardian.com - The Secret history of the jazz greats who were freemasons
  2. 9 December 2009 - Londonist - In pictures: The Masonic Temple of Liverpool Street
  3. Date unknown - Atlas Obscura - Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel
Links
City of London Festival
Julian Joseph
The Julian Joseph Jazz Academy
Jazz FM

Jacknife Posters

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Our designs are big, bold and brash… and sometimes subtle and understated. I try to match the feel and energy I get from the band's music with my design for their poster. A good gig poster should sum up that band, at that gig, at that point in time.

Chris Hopewell (Poster Designer)

Roaming around Latitude Festival recently in between acts, I stumbled across Jacknife Posters who were in residence with their incredible display of gig posters. It was a fortuitous discovery as the prints blew me away.

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Bristol based Jacknife Posters, formed in 2006, design and produce stunning hand silk screen printed gig and tour posters using superlative paper and inks. Each poster is a guaranteed one-off, signed and individually numbered by the designer, which renders them immediately unique and collectable.

Whether bold and vibrant or subtle and modest, each poster is incredibly striking and I spent ages flicking through the designs on show. Whether you are into rock or indie music or not (I am), the graphic sophistication teamed with splashes of juxtaposed colour and awesome typography will snatch your attention. The female characters are fierce, irrepressible heroines captured flawlessly by the designers.

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 I have my eye on this Queens of the Stone Age print from Primavera, Barcelona on 29 May 2014. If you're a band, manager, or promoter and you like what you see, then Jacknife may design something for you. You lucky things.

These are posters for art and music lovers everywhere and officially my new obsession.

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CRYSTAL PALACE, YOU LOOKED WONDERFUL OUT THERE

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I don't know the exact number of times I've seen Dirty Dancing. 

It was released in 1987 and so based on a scientific calculation of (DVD watched at random times) + (obligatory Christmas viewing) x (searching YouTube clips for the best scenes) = a lot.

Yet, when the opportunity came to watch it for the 108th time but this time al fresco, lying re supine on a blanket with 'outdoor' facilities and to pay for the honour - care of The Luna Cinema, the UK's Number 1 Open Air Cinema, I didn't give it a moment's deliberation. I was there.

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The classic story of Frances 'Baby' Houseman and Johnny Castle dirty dancing their way to heart-aching love has not been tarnished by time or trend. It is perfectly acceptable to appreciate a noir Lynch classic, reel off an art house film as the finest ever made and cite an Almodóvar as your favourite AND love DD. It remains as beautiful as it was on its initial release and renders me an emotional wreck even to this day.

The Luna Cinema travelled to Crystal Palace, SE19 on 21 June and oh, what a night. A section of the park had been cordoned off to create a nifty outdoor theatre complete with gargantuan projector screen and surround sound, fancy Benefit makeup bar, posh burgers and the obligatory bar. Premium seats were available in the form of a Directors Chair but my friends were and I were happy to rough it on blankets which provided a perfectly good view of the huge screen. A quick nose around at fellow DD film buffs showed that gourmet picnics were packed impressively, watermelons featured heavily in fruit and frozen daiquiri form and the excited chattering was penetrated with the regular pop of prosecco corks. One of my favourite sounds. Ever.

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Summer had finally arrived as we chatted excitedly, took groupies and made hilarious DD quips based on how many times we'd seen it and our precise knowledge of every single scene, song and sentence delivery. 'Better go to the loo now, don't want to miss a bit, ho ho', etc. We waited patiently for the sun to go down and finally it was time, the familiar drum beats of The Ronettes' Be My Baby and the black and white images of those dirty dancers in slow motion adorned the screen.

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Watching a film en masse is strangely comforting and terrific fun. There was a whiff of hen party in the air, the odd scattering of bloke in the crowd for good measure and not a gobby back row kid chucking popcorn in sight. Just like-minded adults who sometimes want to forget the real world and be a teenager again (who holidays at Kellerman's and gets to snog Patrick Swayze).

Throughout the entire performance - from start to finish - we cheered heartily in unison at the best bits, whooped appreciatively whenever Johnny adorned the screen, whistled at the saucy bits and sang along to the incredible 1960s soundtrack in a quasi-outdoor karaoke completion.

My outdoor DD experience made me realise many profound things, including:

  • All the best scenes are 100 times better than you remember when magnified on a big screen, when you are grown up enough to understand the issues at hand and when your lovely mates are your film buddies.
  • When we first burst through the doors of the staff quarters care of Baby, Billy Kostecki and oversized watermelons it is the bestest, sweatiest, dirty party we've never been to and Otis Redding's Love Man is the perfect track.
  • Still on a Billy note, he's overrated. We definitely would have tried to get off with him if his cousin Johnny had rebuked our advances.
  • The lake / log / practice-lift scene is a beautiful, funny and charming piece of cinematography and the subtle piano teaser of (I've Had) The Time of my Life makes us go a bit gooey as we consider THAT scene is ahead. It also begs the question, why wasn't there a lake with a log and boys to dance on said log with at Sandhills Holiday Park, Dorset? Well Mum and Dad?
  • Baby and Johnny's 'fill in' dance at The Sheldrake to the sounds of De Todo Un Poco (anyone else sing their own version of that song even though they don't speak Spanish? De der der der der, DE TODONPOCO etc) is hilarious and Jennifer Grey's facial expressions and the way she disguises her mistakes with hand gesticulations is pure comedic genius.
  • It is impossible not to show off and recite familiar phrases after a few glasses of fizz and when in a group-based situation. Fair weather DD fans comfortably know Nobody puts baby in a corner and spaghetti arms. Die hard DD fans, however, yell out the obscure stuff at the screen with inhibition. Baby? Is that your name? Well you know what Baby? You don’t know shit about my problems and Take that stuff off your face before your mother sees you. Or Baby, I’ll do your hair. It could look pretty if…No. Prettier your way. Or shouting out Bill Medley's Oh yeah, yeah, yeah as Johnny leaps off the stage in the final dance scene, like me. Pure showing off.
  • Patrick Swayze was a perfect, beautiful actor who played Johnny was sensitivity, grace and fierceness and looked ridiculously fit. When he punched Robbie Gould and said 'You're not worth it' with such dazzling menace, deep down we all wanted him to put his face in our stomach while we hung out in the staff lodgings. We would have told our Dad he was our guy, no hesitation. (On a serious note, his death was premature and he'll never, ever be forgotten).
  • Marjorie Houseman may live in the shadow of Dr Houseman and be excluded from the Baby-Daddy relationship for most of the film, but when she delivers those killer words ' Sit down, Jake', it is exquisitely powerful. A feminists rally cry. She's the boss, Doc, and don't you forget it.
  • The outfits are insane. Reference: Baby in denim shorts, peach body top and pristine white pumps or pink chiffon skirt and white vest top knotted at the waist. Penny in any dress. Any dress at all.

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Our al fresco viewing pleasure flew by in a flash and there was a noticeable crescendo of excitement as the final dirty dance of the season approached. For the 100+ pickled, nostalgic and over-emotional crowd it was almost too much to bear. It was near on hysteria when Johnny returned with leather jacket.

Deep down, we all felt like we were leaving Kellerman's after the best summer of our lives; after all, for our generation this was our coming-of-age film and we experienced that gut wrenching end-of-holiday feeling. Our emotions over spilled, we joined hands and hearts and voices, voices, hearts and hands. We shouted, we whooped, if the truth be told we got a bit breathless to that iconic final scene as if it we were seeing it for the very first time. The end of the film left, as always, lots of unanswered questions about the famous Baby and Johnny and the feeling was jubilant but wistful as we made our back to reality. Just when did we grow up so much?

Luna Cinema, great job. I've read other reviews of similar outdoor showings of Dirty Dancing where it got a bit silly, the people got lairy and the atmosphere was not good, but not here. In Crystal Palace Park that night we were all friends together, bonded by our love of this amazing film. We laughing at each other's jokes, shouted out clever quips and celebrated by dancing in the park at the end.  The staff were helpful and amiable and I could have sworn I saw a steward dancing through a prosecco haze - but on reflection he may have been stopping an overzealous dancer getting too close to the projector and got unwittingly pulled into a dirty dance.

Thank you. We had a blast, and we owe it all to you. (Sorry).

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