RAGING BLU

The field of young black female singers is getting awfully crowded, but Peggi Blu stands out. Blu, who opened a three-week engagement Wednesday night at Studio One’s Backlot, doesn’t specialize in crossover-minded black pop a la Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, but in a raucous, gut-bucket R&B; approach that recalls soul shouter Millie Jackson.

Almost all of the songs in the North Carolina native’s 45-minute set built to an intense, bowl-’em-over finish. That kind of vocal power is thrilling in measured doses, but quickly becomes tedious. Chaka Khan--another singer to whom Blu bears a strong resemblance--does a better job of tempering the intensity, so that she smolders rather than rages. That sort of restraint would seem to be the key if Blu hopes to reach a broad pop audience.

She also mirrors Jackson in her stage persona, which incorporates a lot of good-natured raunch. But Blu occasionally seemed tough and crass, as when she inquired how many people in the audience came with their “pieces.” Blu may not have the obvious mass appeal potential of a Houston, but she could easily become an R&B; cult favorite. She’s scheduled to perform nightly Wednesdays through Saturdays until July 25.