Céu @ The Triple Door

The Triple Door continues to be the Venue Most Likely To Book Bands We'd Like To Sleep With. Ah, metaphorically, right -- bands that create an instant, itchy lust to hear more. Now while we cool down a bit, here's a coming-up-next announcement:

Wednesday, 7:30pm: Rosie Thomas w/Denison Witmer & Sheila Saputo. A folksy singer/songwriter with a fabulous voice, Thomas has a charmingly off-beat stage presence.

Sunday/Monday, 8pm: Rufus Wainwright is in town for a 2-night-stand with Teddy Thompson. Rufus was born to play the Triple Door. We expect all of Capitol Hill to be in attendance.

That said, while 25-year-old Brazilian Céu [myspace] is what's known in some circles as a "smokin' hottie," the metaphorical orgy we're talking about includes the whole band: Bruno Buarque (percussion), Lucas Martins (bass and guitar), Serginho Machado (percussion), Guilherme Ribeiro (keyboard), and DJ Marco. Yep, whole band, or we just -- well, no need for ultimatums. We walked in expecting Brazilian samba, and we got so much more: soul and R&B, "afrobeat" and "electrojazz," two genres we treat with quotes to indicate: "existence, our shocking ignorance of." They are good words, though, so we'll use them. On ballads, Céu might sound a little like Sade (okay, with more vocal agility); but "Concrete Jungle" [listen at myspace] sounds like Jimmy Cliff singing with a '70s funk back-up band. She kept encouraging the Triple Door audience to get up and dance and if there had been any room to do that, this crowd just might have. We kept coming back to the bass lines the tunes hung on, the physicality of the percussion, that glorious electric organ sound. There was even a sing-along encore. Céu, come back soon.