Concert Previews

Following in the footsteps of Bebel Gilberto, CéU blends sambas, bossas and other traditional Brazilian forms with contemporary production techniques: a little DJ turntablism, some electronic beats or percolating effects, an occasional protracted abstraction that nods to remix or dub culture. CéU's crystalline soprano floats above everything with a sensuous seductiveness that make the hip-hop-influenced "Ave Cruz" as pure and direct as an unadulterated acoustic song like "Valsa Pra Blu Roque." Born Maria do Ceu Whitaker Pocas, CéU (pronounced say-you) is steeped in the history of Brazilian music - her father is a musicologist in Sao Paulo - but she knows her Erykah Badu and her Bob Marley (witness her nuanced cover of "Concrete Jungle") as well as her Gal Costa and Marisa Monte.

- Steve Klinge

Will Popped! leave you pooped?

Quite possibly.

The inaugural music festival of that name starts Monday and carries on for seven straight nights of indie rock and pop bands.

The marquee event is not until next Friday at the Starlight Ballroom - a quadruple bill featuring ebullient rockers Dr. Dog and Spinto Band, space explorers Bardo Pond and up-and-comers Illinois - but there are plenty of notable multi-act evenings preceding it.

Such as: a five-band lineup headlined by mind-blowing instrumental trio and Dostoyevsky buffs Stinking Lizaveta at the Avant Gentleman's Lodge on Tuesday, and a Wednesday show headed up by frightening precise noise rock heroes the Notekillers, at a venue that, according to the www.poppedphiladelphia.org Web site, is yet to be announced.

With the exception of Brit rockers the Klaxons and raucous Brazilians Bondo do Role, who play a Making Time event next Saturday that will serve as the Popped! afterparty, all acts are locally connected. Best name awards go to King Kong Ding Dong, Affirmative Action Jackson and the War on Drugs.

- Dan DeLuca

Like the King of the Blues, B.B. King, the Queen of the Blues doesn't seem ready to abdicate her throne despite age and infirmity. Pushing 80, and having recovered from a gastrointestinal illness that almost took her life, Koko Taylor has just released her first album in seven years.

Old School

is just that, a raw-boned set of classic-style Chicago blues that finds the Tennessee-born belter in remarkably robust form. It doesn't hurt that Taylor also has strong material to work with, from take-no-guff originals like "You Ain't Worth a Good Woman" and "Better Watch Your Step" to songs by, among others, Magic Sam (a monumentally powerful version of the ballad "All My Love") and Willie Dixon. The latter's "Young Fashioned Ways" provides a fitting closer to the set, as it seems to celebrate the blend of mature wisdom and creative vibrancy that Taylor so potently embodies.

- Nick Cristiano

Give the lady credit. Ross is a font of enthusiasm, no matter what. OK. That observation runs contrary to what the media have always said about her. But at the moment, she's got a new album to sell. For instance, though it's long-rumored that Motown's divine diva was no fan of the

Dreamgirls

juggernaut and its appropriation of the Supremes legend, Ross has said nothing. Ross went on talk shows, blabbed about her new

I Love You

, and feigned ignorance. Ross mentored

American Idol

and acted with charm and poise while kids like Sanjaya butchered her classics. Oy. The things a woman has to do to publicize her record. And make no mistake:

I Love You

is decent, filled with some chipper old chestnuts redone with Ross' high clipped voice; groovy tunes like Bill Withers' "Lovely Day" and Heatwave's "Always and Forever"; simmering stuff like Harry Nilsson's "Remember." Diana shouldn't have to subject herself to Sanjaya just to promote such an achievement. No one should have to work that hard.

- A.D. Amorosi