This whole gypsy-rock trend of the past few years still has legs, much to the surprise of anyone who thought it would disappear as quickly as the ’90s neo-swing movement. Maybe it’s because some of the leaders of the scene – Gogol Bordello, DeVotchKa, Beirut, etc. – aren’t strict formalists; rather, they’ve been taking that vintage Eastern European melody and instrumentation and cross-pollinating it with punk, mariachi, Brit-pop, soul, and other genres. Balkan Beat Box might be the most adventurous of the bunch. Led by Firewater’s Tamir Muskat and ex-Bordello man Ori Kaplan – and featuring anywhere from a handful to about 267 members whenever they hit the stage – BBB fuses klezmer/gypsy music to electronic and hip-hop beats and dub/reggae textures for a mighty intoxicating, danceworthy sound.

Sat., Sept. 13, 8 p.m., 2008