In what counts as one of the more random nights out in a while, I was about to leave the supperclub launch party (having had my fill of interpretive dance and meat on a stick) when a rumour got around that American director Spike Lee was making an appearance at 11pm. Granted, I couldn’t tell you what he’s done lately other than sit courtside at NY Knicks games, but hey – this guy directed Malcolm X. That should give you at least 5-7 years of clout.

Now, Spike (first-name basis, oh snap!) is in town for two days as a speaker at the Global Brand Forum conference for ‘marketing mavericks’; Jimmy Wales, the creator of Wikipedia, was also here, along with Al Golin (not to be confused with Al Gore, which is what I heard when someone yelled in my ear over the music at supperclub).

In true Time Out fashion, I knew someone who knew someone who was organising Spike’s ’social calendar’ for his one night in town, and she said we could hang out at the party. How do you say no? So at the stroke of 11, Spike shows up, decked out in NY Yankees gear and probably thick in the throes of jet lag, and sits back on the bed. The following is more or less an exact transcription of our exchange:

[Scene: I walk nervously up to his bed and wave, take my shoes off and essentially crawl on the mattress towards this award-winning director. Awkward moment No 1.]

LD: Um, hi, I don’t want to bother you, but I’m Laura and I’m from New York.

SL: Where in New York?

LD: I was living in Prospect Heights.

SL: Brooklyn! [Pause.]

LD: Uh, yup. So what are you doing in Singapore?

SL: Here for a conference. [Silence]

LD: Cool. What do you think of Singapore so far?

SL: I like what I’ve seen. [Silence.]

LD: Is this your first time here?

SL: Yup. [Even more silence.]

LD: Uhh, cool.

After about two minutes of Yankees talk (’they’re not doing so well right now’), I figured I had worn out my welcome. We shook hands, smiled, I said thanks and resisted the urge to yell ‘I loved Boyz n the Hood!’ over my shoulder (note: he didn’t make Boyz n the Hood), and I leave him to sink back into the pillows that are basically the size of his entire torso.

Sadly, I had fallen into the trap of assuming a celebrity wanted to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk to him. But I also got to say I shared a bed with Spike Lee…and that’s not a bad story.

I was really looking forward to the launch of supperclub Singapore as; let’s be honest – we aren’t always swamped with such trendy places opening up in our city. I haven’t been to any of the other supperclubs and was curious to see how it would look. So last night, a little too eagerly perhaps, we turned up at just before 8pm to be met by a drag queen and various other oddly dressed staff (all in white as per the theme). We were ushered upstairs with people literally dancing around us to see the much-hyped interior and yes ─ it’s impressive. The main room comprises two floors, the top of which is more like a balcony looking down on the lower floor (for some reason it kept bringing to mind a prison block, maybe that’s just me) with immaculate white beds running the length of both the upstairs and downstairs. As we were fairly early, there weren’t many others there at this point (although to be honest it was quite difficult to tell who was working and who was a guest with the all-white theme), so we clambered up onto one of the beds in prime position, not really sure if we were supposed to take off our shoes.

There’s no denying that it’s a great space, unlike anything Singapore has seen before I’d bet (apart from the bed bar which shut on Mohamed Sultan Road). It is a big place, really big (there’s another room away from the main one with another bar and a central square lounging bed), so my initial thought was ‘How the hell are they ever going to fill this place?’ However, after a few top-ups of champagne, the place began to fill with even more party-goers dressed in white and even more weirdly dressed staff (waiters wrapped in clingfilm – seriously).
I only stayed for a few hours, which apparently was before it got very full, but I had to leave when someone started doing a ‘spoken word performance’ to strange music and visuals of bombs and Hello Kitty on the wall, waaay too much for me. I find performance art excruciatingly painful to watch and don’t understand the obsession with having it at launch parties here – someone please explain.

All in all, the supperclub is a very ‘cool’ place although maybe a little too cool. I really do hope it is successful but worry that the novelty factor may wear off pretty soon. Oh yeah, a word of warning: the toilets are unisex so keep your wits about you, and when you flush – it’s like a tornado went off in the bowl so keep your distance to stay dry. Also it’s dark in there, really dark, so ladies, make sure you do your make-up before you go in ─ you can barely find the mirror let alone see your reflection.