Juju & Acid on Halloween

It made total sense to pair the European premiere of Jaleesa Vincent's Juju, The Surf Musical — is it premature to call it an instant cult classic? — with the release of Acid Magazine's latest issue at our flagship store. With Jaleesa, Luka, Quentin, and Baptiste as guests of honor, the room had a pulse that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.

Entrenched as deep in surfing as they could be, both Jaleesa and the Acid crew are just as inclined to look inward at their own ecosystem as they are outward for inspiration, guidance, and, most of all, curiosity.

Curiosity, naturally, brought in the crowd. Regulars arrived with the confidence of those who know where we keep the free drinks. Familiar faces mingled with fresh ones, and by the end of the night we’d risk saying a fair few left converted to the gospel, or at least signed up for the newsletter.

Created by Jaleesa and directed by her partner and collaborator, Luka Raubenheimer, Juju's 30 minutes left plenty of mouths agape. There’s great surfing by Jaleesa herself, Creed (of the Dark) McTaggart, Josie Prendergast, and the inimitable Occy, mixed with a surreal and often darkly humorous absurdity narrated through song and a little dance.

The occasion was celebrated in ink and thread, with a small run of t-shirts commemorating Jaleesa’s magnum opus and a limited edition collaborative beach bag with Acid Magazine, to be worn until it becomes fashionably threadbare. And we wouldn’t be self-respecting hosts if we hadn’t provided enough food, bev, and tunes to float the crowd through the end of the night.

Considering the screening aligned with Halloween should tell you everything (and nothing) about the afterparty.