Despite the wholly unoriginal decision to name their latest effort after the colour of the album cover, (well, it’s officially self-titled), Weezer seems excited. And why shouldn’t they be? They haven’t released anything in ages and their new single ‘Pork and Beans’ is sitting pretty atop the Billboard Modern Rock chart. Anyway, the guys seem to have itchy trigger fingers because they have bumped up their new album release by a whopping three weeks to 3 June.

The official press release claims that the premature ejaculation is because ‘The streets can’t wait any longer.’ To us this sounds suspiciously like, ‘Everyone’s already downloaded it, let’s just get the gravy train going’.

Whatever. Here’s the official tracklist.

1. Troublemaker
2. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)
3. Pork and Beans
4. Heart Songs
5. Everybody Get Dangerous
6. Dreamin’
7. Thought I Knew
8. Cold Dark World
9. Automatic
10. The Angel and the One

Deluxe version bonus tracks:

11. Miss Sweeney
12. Pig 1
13. The Spider
14. King

Elton John, in his knee-length coat with the words ‘Town of Plenty’ etched on its back, has left the island – but what a show on Wednesday night. A few of us TOS staffers got the chance to go and we weren’t disappointed. Granted, it took a little while for things to get going – the audience was, dare we say, a little corporate (considering the $400+ ticket prices, it makes sense), plus Sir Elton (don’t forget the sir!) started off with some slower, newer numbers when clearly everyone wanted to hear his old stuff. But then he dropped ‘Tiny Dancer’ as the third or fourth song, and there was no going back after that. Here are just a few of the classics he played (we’d forgotten how many good songs he has): ‘Benny and the Jets’, ‘Candle in the Wind’, ‘Rocket Man’ (this wicked extended version), ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Daniel’s Song’ and a cover of The Who’s ‘Pinball Wizard’. Everyone at the sold-out Indoor Stadium was on their feet for his two closing numbers, ‘Crocodile Rock’ and ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’, and there was even some slow dancing when he encored with ‘Your Song’ from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. We especially loved his stereotypically ageing rocker band complete with long hair, dark glasses and leather trousers; the percussionist even threw his tambourine in the air at one point and missed the catch – brilliant.

One gripe we did have was with Brewerkz at the Indoor Stadium. Can they please sort out their service? Surely they know they will be inundated with punters whenever there is an event going on, yet they couldn’t manage the throngs of people and the queues at the bar were monumental. We saw customers place a drink order and watch as other people new to the queue were served before them — worth the griping that was going on.

Georgia Reeve and Laura Dannen

TOS staffer Sabrina Lee recalls her night as a catwalk model for The Great Zouk TEE – Dance

The night was dramatic from start to finish. The props were in place, from a giant Mickey Mouse hand to inflatable eyeballs to 17 Jello pyramids lining the catwalk (the Egyptians would be proud). Head of creative at Zouk, Mriz Sidah, was ready to get started. It was all befitting of an anniversary party (17^th, to be exact), but as Zouk celebrated its birthday on Saturday night, it also showcased a new line of merchandise to be sold to its faithful followers – specifically, three original T-shirt designs. ‘We interpreted the various elements created in the collection into spaces,’ says Sidah. ‘We also wanted to showcase the installations done by our icons and friends like Bobby & Ritz (Butter Factory) and Chris (Asylum)’.

Marketing manager Tracy Phillips looked beautiful and elegant as usual in her outfit: a deconstruction of the T-shirt involving strategically pinned-on black ribbons (which was put together in just under five minutes by show producer and choreographer Rizal Ahyar and team) paired with a variation of a tulip skirt. Constantly on her mobile, she made overseeing the event look like a piece of cake. I rocked up in a pair of jeans, silver leather Velcro-fastened gladiator sandals and one of the T-shirts they had previously given me, designed with an eye resting above a yellow-and-black-striped pyramid. Little did I know, I was to be a part of a choreographed fashion show (gasp!). During rehearsals, we were given numbers and instructions to strut and strike a pose each time we hit the catwalk. Having been a dancer in my youth, this was as easy as…a one and a two and a three. Our choreographer was impressed with my improvisation on the catwalk and I was made an (good) example to the rest of the talent. The only gripe he had was that I wasn’t dramatic-looking enough. He sent me to hair and makeup for a whole lot of pimpin’. I was excited, albeit nervous, at the thought of being fawned over by makeup and hair artists. I expressed that I wasn’t used to putting on makeup…they assured me that they would make me look good. After my metamorphosis: electric-blue eye shadow and more than ten pins in my hair. I looked like a psychedelic-space-nerd-prom queen minus the ‘saving the world’ speech and tiara. Drastic change, yes, but one that I was okay with.

A little past 10pm, the doors opened. The club soon filled with a who’s who of Singapore’s local fashion and design industries along with fans of the iconic T-shirt. Spirits were high and so was the anticipation. As we waited backstage, friendly banter ensued between the ‘talents’, among them the ‘Club Kids’ (as they’re affectionately known), a bunch of zealous party-goers with a reputation to dress to kill, depending on theme…of course. The general consensus was that if we were to f*** up, we might as well have fun in the process and make it look good. And as far as most pre-rehearsed shows go, we did everything but what was originally rehearsed. Nonetheless, it went really well, and the crowd was as sweet as Turkish delight. Cheering us on, there was no pretension that you would normally expect at a fashion show. Behind the scenes, everyone got on incredibly well. If given the chance to do this again, it would be my guilty pleasure to say yes. But at the same time, it really is hard work being a model – all that waiting around and being told what to do can be quite exhausting. But when it’s for a night where everyone’s there in support of Zouk’s fashion label, the exhaustion on my part is but a piece of lint on a sweater. ‘Every year we try to create a different experience and some shows are more dramatic then others. This year, we wanted to focus on throwing a good party for our guests,’ says Phillips. And it certainly was. Sabrina Lee

I was lucky enough ride the much-hyped Singapore Flyer over the weekend and was really, really impressed. Honestly. I’d heard rumours of it being empty, but on Friday night there were long queues (okay, admittedly, I think there was a corporate outing there that night, but still, there were definitely people). We managed to miss out on the packed corporate pods and bag our own private one, which of course suited us fine. It would normally set you back around $1,000-$1,500 depending on the time for the privilege (ouch), so we thoroughly enjoyed this fluke; it meant we had free reign to dance around as we liked to the awful piped ‘elevator music’ playing. The half-hour round-trip (ahem) was great: we arrived around 6.40pm, which I would recommend as the sun goes down and the city lights come up just as you’re hitting the highest point (165 metres!). The views really are spectacular, not just for tourists but for anyone – if you’re an F1 fan you can see the Singapore Grand Prix track taking shape. You can also look down on the hundreds of cranes working on the casinos and, of course, take in the impressive city skyline, too. At $29.50 per person it’s definitely worth a go; just be prepared for the funniest part of the whole experience – your ‘souvenir photo’. At $15 a pop you can have your photo taken ‘on’ the flyer – except it’s actually taken in front of a green skin waaaay before you’ve even set foot on the thing. A blatant punt at money-making but quite funny nonetheless, and it still drew the crowds…

Georgia Reeve

Checked out the Andy Warhol exhibit this weekend at Collectors Contemporary, a gallery that’s strategically located near … Ikea. (Hey, you never know when you might need a hot dog, sofa and some Warhol in your life.) Couple pleasant surprises about this show: 1. It’s free. 2. They serve you free champagne…and will continue to do so until the champagne runs out (it’s leftover from their Warhol opening party on 28 March). 3. There are 120 Warhols on display, covering 20 years of his work, everything from a silk-screened Mao series to psychadelic-coloured James Dean canvases. There’s so much to show, some unsigned Marilyn Monroes didn’t even make it to the walls. No joke.

I wouldn’t even consider myself a Warhol fan, let alone a junkie, but I am a curious American who wanted to see my countryman’s iconic work up close. The show does not disappoint, no matter where you’re from. Note of disclosure, though: These are all for sale (ahh, the champagne make a little more sense now). It’s the personal collection of two men, Singaporeans Alvin and Gary, who are selling the pieces off individually or as a series. Not for the weak walleted – one less-prominent Hans Christian Andersen series of four silk-screenings is priced around US$70,000. Eek.

Even if you’re not a collector, go just to have a chat with Gary and Alvin, two of the funniest, most down-to-earth art collectors you’re likely to meet in Singapore. Gary went to art school in San Francisco and knew people in Warhol’s crowd. One such person (a ‘factory kid’) ended up posing for Warhol for the film poster for Querelle — both the print and the photo that served as the inspiration are at Collectors.

And then, of course, there are the 20 Campbell soups — from 1968 and 1969 — it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. But if you ask me, the real stars of the show are the John F Kennedy exhibit (with newsprint from his assassination serving as a silkscreen backdrop), and Alvin and Gary. ‘100 Warhols (Plus Twenty Servings of Soup on the Side)’ runs through 5 June. Collectors Contemporary is open Tue-Sun, 11am-7pm. Laura Dannen

Some of the Time Out Singapore team were lucky enough to see the live final of The Contender Asia on Saturday night at the Indoor Stadium. And – WOW, we’re not going to spoil it for you as the final won’t air on AXN until Wednesday 23 April, but we’re telling you it won’t disappoint. It was almost a full house at the stadium with some hardcore fans holding up homemade signs for their favourites (we’re not necessarily talking fighters – presenter Jaymee Ong had a few admirers too). We loved watching the traditional pre-game rituals performed by the fighters (known as the “Wai Khru” in Thai) as they entered the ring to the traditional hypnotic music, and it definitely helped getting the crowd hyped. Everyone got more involved leading up to the intense final fight between… no names mentioned (but of course we already know the four semi-finalists include Russian Dzhabar, Aussie John Wayne Parr, Scotsman Sean Wright and Thailand’s Yodsaenklai so it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination)–even the other contenders were showing their support for the finalists between bouts – and yes, expect blood, sweat and tears. Make sure you keep Wednesday free to stay home and catch the action.