Friday Happenings

Soft Boys

-- Robyn Hitchcock, a fixture of independent music since he jump started the New Wave with the Soft Boys single "I Wanna Destroy You," plays in Somerville tonight. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Sq., Somerville, 7:30 p.m. $26.50

Booze

-- Bostonist's friends LUPEC, the Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, host a mock USO show to highlight some of the cocktails at the edge of extinction. Your tolerance for this event might vary with either your tolerance for irony or your indulgence of antiquarians. A benefit for the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center, 85 W. Newton St., 7 p.m. $35.

Stings

-- The Boston String Players, a string orchestra drawing from musicians at Boston's various universities, performs a program of Elgar, Mozart, Finzi, and Grieg. Conducted by Motoki Tanaka. First Church, 66 Marlborough St., 7:30 p.m. $10.

Staged Radio

-- X-1 presents its final weekend of science fiction radio plays adapted for the stage. The Piano Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont St., 8 p.m. $20/$15.

Movies

-- The Magner's Irish Film Festival continues its John Boorman retrospective with a special presentation of The General (1998), a visceral, black and white recounting of the story of Martin Cahill, a notorious Dublin gangster. Boorman will be on hand to discuss the film and to receive the IFF's Excellence Award. Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7 p.m. $10.