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After watching the film ''Girl Play," this inquiring mind wants to know: Since when did lesbians become the new Woody Allen? We could see it coming in ''Kissing Jessica Stein,"which featured an uber-neurotic protagonist who made Diane Keaton seem as steady as a brain surgeon. ''Girl Play," which continues the 21st annual Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival tonight at the Museum of Fine Arts, is a gold mine of neuroses. In Lee Friedlander's film, Robin (Robin Greenspan) and Lacie (Lacie Harmon) talk about how they fell in love in real life. Well, they don't so much talk as they pontificate, on all the reasons why they should never fall in love. Alas, it's a romantic comedy (with some steamy sex scenes, we might add), so they do indeed fall in love. If it seems a tad treacly for your tastes, there are some serious bonuses, such as Mink Stole as an over-the-top Jewish mother and Dom DeLuise(!) as an over-the-top theater producer. The show time is 8:15 p.m, with ''The Joy of Life," Jenni Olson's celluloid love letter to San Francisco, screening at 6:15. The festival runs through May 22, and the screening at 3:40 p.m. Sunday of ''Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World" will include a discussion with Representative Barney Frank. Tickets are $10; they're $8 for students, seniors, and MFA members. 465 Huntington Ave., 617-369-3306.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY Sara Sweet Rabidoux, Somerville's own modern-dance maven, calls her company hoi polloi, a salute to ''the common people" or ''the masses." Tonight at the Boston Dance Company Studio, hoi polloi premieres ''Cupcake," and also offers Joe Shepard's performance of ''Love Letter to Crawford, TX." It's a late show, at 10:30, and tickets are $5. 550 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, 617-776-1733.

THE REAL GYPSIES Don't worry: It's not what you're thinking. Just because Taraf de Haïdouks named its last album ''Band of Gypsies" does not mean the band deals in the Gipsy Kings' brand of Gypsy-lite music. Nope, there's no ''Bamboleo" or ''Volare" here, folks. (That comes on May 25, when the Gipsy Kings play at the Bank of America Pavilion.) So now that we know you'll continue to read this item, we can tell you that Romania's Taraf de Haïdouks is a village band that plays a fevered mix of traditional Roma music. The performers' ages range from 20 to 78, and their ''Band of Gypsies" is a lesson in virtuosity, as the band plays songs in three live concerts. It's intense music -- as songs about burials, harvests, and weddings should be -- but it's also playful. Some of these songs pulsate with such frantic accordion, violin, and bass, they could be an extension of Tom Waits's score for ''The Black Rider." Taraf de Haïdouks is at Somerville Theatre tonight at 8 to show you Gypsy neophytes how it's really done. Tickets: $25. 55 Davis Square, Somerville, 617-876-4275.

A REAL BLAST Who cares that the Explosion ended up not being rock's new saviors, as everyone seemed to predict last year. Go!, for one, is not concerned. We're still loving the band's major-league debut, ''The Black Tape," and we think they're still Boston's best answer to _________ (fill in preferred hard-rock band here, including Social Distortion and AC/DC). Tonight at 9, Beantown's favorite rockers roll into the Middle East Upstairs with Throw Rag, Loved Ones, and Shanghai Valentine. The Explosion's bassist, Damian Genuardi, will be spinning records in the restaurant after the show. Tickets: $10. Meanwhile, Jennifer Matthews, who we're told is a ''Jersey girl who now lives in Me'fud," is celebrating the release of her fifth album, ''The Wheel." She's at the Lizard Lounge at 10:15; the tickets are $7. The Middle East Upstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278. Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759.

Events can always be canceled, rescheduled, or sold out; call to confirm. Go! can be reached at go@globe.com or by calling 617-929-8257.