Fri. May 9

The pressure on China to behave in more humane fashion is amping up - can't you feel it? Not that we here in the good old USA live in a glass house and can throw stones. I mean, we can, but you look around at the greed, hypocrisy, recession and wars and well it's not exactly time to be "Proud to Be An American." (Two points if you recall that old Tubes song.) Anyway, Rick Roth - a buddy/competitor from back in my fastpitch softball playing days, a raging liberal and a t-shirt design and manufacturing innovator - is devoting a lot of his spare time to the Free Tibet movement. Roth is friends with lots of like-minded rockers, so benefits come together, sometimes at the last moment. This Friday, May 9, there's one at the Middle East Corner, with the Chandler Travis Philharmonic (or most of it) playing at 11:30. "Like playing in a slightly bigger closet with a slightly smaller band!" quips Travis. Also on the bill, Michael Bloom and Peace Chorus. It starts at 10:30: Donation: $5.

480 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com