Wed. March 11

 There's a cliche or truism about standup comics, or there was back in the '80s heyday: They're either on drugs, and sometimes scrambling for them, or they're in rehab, having been through the rollercoaster ride and wanting out. It's fair to say that a good number of Boston's survivors are in the latter camp. Same true, for many of the rockers of that era. There comes a time, as Neil Young once sang. (Neil wasn't singing about drugs exactly, but he lost some dear friends to them, and had a bout himself.) At any rate, Arlington's Right Turn. run by former del Fuego drummer Woody Giessmann, has done some great rehab and counseling work in the area, keying many of its programs to people in the arts ... in trouble. (Giessmann himself served as the Rolling Stones professional anti-drug handler on a tour.) They do a lot of benefits, and they've got one coming up Wed. March 11 7-10 at the Summer Shack at Alewife, with Lenny Clarke (in photo, soon to be on TV again in "Rescue Me" and still a stalwart of the standup scene, albeit not as manic and ever-present as he was back in the day. Clarke has a rapid-fire, take-no-prisoners persona, that while often coming from a right-of-center perspective wins you over with his overall humanity - and the laughs that spill out over a topic you know you really shouldn't be laughing about. (See: Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Denis Leary.) He's joined by fellow comic Jack Lynch, and for music, it's James Montgomery - proud to be in recovery - and the Right Turn Band doing some blues and rock. The benefit tickets run $100. And there's food by the Summer Shack's gregarious owner-chef Jasper White.

149 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, 878-473-9749 www.right-turn/org/store.asp