Happy November! Here’s what you’re doing this weekend.
Dwele and Slum Village
For someone who mostly sings about love and relationships, Andwele Gardner (aka Dwele) is actually pretty hard knock. At age ten he saw his father get fatally shot outside the family home. That childhood trauma, and the emotional wounds it generated, ultimately steered Dwele toward music. The singer said he began writing songs as a form of catharsis. He also played a variety of instruments (trumpet, guitar, piano) and listened to a ton of hip-hop. Dwele made his name working with the late producer J. Dilla and singing hooks for the group SlumVillage, though he eventually consolidated his career as a solo artist. His 2010 album W.antsW.orldW.omen drew influences from jazz, gospel, and R&B, and included political ballads that begged comparison to Marvin Gaye. Its lead single, “What’s Not to Love,” was beautiful and immediately catchy, bolstered by Dwele’s luxuriant tenor. He’ll perform with SlumVillage at The New Parish (579 18th St., Oakland) on Saturday, Nov. 5. 9 p.m., $28-$45. TheNewParish.com— Rachel Swan
While sign-ups for space in this year’s Girl-on-Girl Dodgeball tournament have closed (spots reportedly filled up in less than one hour), it’s not too late to score tickets to attend the annual extravaganza. This year, 48 teams comprising more than two thousand women will furiously hurl balls at one another on three courts, competing for a $1,000 cash prize. In addition to flying balls, the competition features a push-up contest, arm wrestling, a mechanical bull-riding battle, four full bars, and a huge dance floor staffed by seven lady DJs and go-go dancers. At the Craneway Pavilion (1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond) on Saturday, Nov. 5. 6 p.m.-2 a.m., $20. 21 and up. 510-215-6000 or GirlOnGirlDodgeball.com — Cassie Harwood
Embassy
The fact that playwright Brian Thorstenson based his new work, Embassy, on a Joan Didion quote should tell you two things: First, that it’s high-minded, and second, that he didn’t intend for it to be intelligible. Hence the bizarre plot: An ambassador on an unnamed Caribbean island is trying to remodel his embassy, right as the US government issues orders for him to redeploy to war-torn New Kazakakurgistan. And there’s more complication, in the form of a boat of low-wattage light bulbs sailing in from Venezuela, a bat-guano harvesting operation, secret agents, mistaken identities, and someone called “The Third Man.” Got it? If not, don’t worry. The main selling point of this play is the character acting, which is singularly fantastic. Richard Frederick plays the likeable dandy, Ambassador Blundercart; Olivia Rosaldo plays his sassy housekeeper (and main eavesdropper) Carmelita; and Cole Alexander Smith is improbably convincing as The Third Man, whose entrance in Act II is preceded by Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man.” Gary Graves directs. Through Nov. 20 at BerkeleyCity Club (2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley). $14-$25. 510-558-1381 or CentralWorks.org — R.S.
