Portland, OR - The Elton John / Billy Joel Face 2 Face concert originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 10 has been postponed.

Promoter Live Nation and The Rose Garden were informed by management today that Elton John has been advised by his doctor to postpone these performances due to a serious case of e-coli bacterial infection and influenza.

Organizers of the event are working to establish a new date. All patrons who have purchased tickets for the Face 2 Face concert on Tuesday, November 10 at Rose Garden are being asked to hold on to their tickets until more information is available regarding the proposed rescheduled engagement.

• Actual photo.

Bad news, folks. Looks like Lucero is trapped by bad weather—and a blood-thirsty snowbeast—and will be forced to cancel tonight's "Ramblin' Roadshow and Memphis Revue" show at the Hawthorne Theatre.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Lucero is currently trapped in the Rockies; an avalanche has blocked off I-80 and, while the band worked to take an alternate route to Portland, the weather has caused some damage to their bus/trailer and forced them to stop driving.

The band is canceling this show with a heavy heart and held out hope that they would make it until the last possible moment. Thanks very much for your understanding and we'll be in touch as soon as we have a makeup date.

This news is sad, but not surprising since the band is a bunch of Southerners and they clearly have no experience fending off an Abominable Snowman—unlike us Pacific Northwesterners. Gentlemen, aim for the eyes. Or the groin.

1.) One of our very favorites, Nurses are touring and have been for some time. The trio recorded a set of live videos in Chicago, produced by Art In The Age, who did an excellent job on the sound. You can find three more songs on Nurses' blog.

2.) The Seattle Weekly put together a feature on Nirvana's Bleach in commemorating the upcoming re-issue. None of the five stories are particularly stunning on their own—including the interviews done by Krist Novoselic—but taken together they are a worthwhile diversion.

3.) Recent travels brought me through New York during CMJ. And though I was not there in any journalistic capacity, I attended a few shows, but mostly just to see friends' bands. As it has been in recently, CMJ continues shrinking. The idea of a multi-day music festival in NY is a nice idea, but also an idiotic one. Especially in rainy, frigid, late-October. Hotels are too expensive and so is the beer.

Anyway, aside from those paltry gripes, I did catch what was likely the most-buzzed-about group of the festival, The xx. It was late after midnight at the Tribeca Grand, a ridiculously hip, bursting at the seams, Standard-like hotel. Lines out the doors, packed on both floors, all kinds of garbage milling about the Good Looking People's Club. A loud, Un-IDM dance party down-stairs pounded along while The xx got their gear together, presumably from an earlier show. When they finally got the DJ's attention, the band's sound-system was unfortunately weaker than the DJ's (why weren't they connected?).

But then it may not have mattered. The xx are another one of the Johnny-come-lately blog-hyped acts who have little or no clue yet how to put on any type of engaging performance, despite having made in interesting album. It's not hard to imagine how adding a bit of velocity to the lackadaisical, pre-dawn, low-breeze, detached vibe of the self-titled record could translate to a more interesting stage show, but The xx either refuse to or cannot. It was soft and the band appeared bored, but their look could've been a bit of self-protective posturing, as the 20-year-olds may have just been overwhelmed.

After seeing this performance it's not surprising The xx just canceled a few upcoming shows due to "exhaustion." It's a familiar story, and begs the question: are bands and management going to recognize that over-exposure while being under-cooked is hurtful to longevity in the blog era? Or is this one hellacious window the only chance before The Next Big Thing swoops in?

Another week, another Mercury music section to flip through while you assemble your skull artwork with nothing more than a few hundred cassettes. See? There is hope for the music industry.

Ironic? No. British? Oh, yeah. Art Brut tickle the fancy of our resident Red Coat, Matt Davis. What's next? Yours truly writing a news story about sit/lie regulations? That's a law about napping, right?
LISTEN:

Art Brut - "Alcoholics Unanimous"

Spoiler alert: At the end of this World's Greatest Ghost article, you'll find out that the band has been dead all along.
LISTEN:

World's Greatest Ghost - "The Royal Court"

The good news is that Sallie Ford sings like Olive Oyl from Popeye. The bad news is that Bluto just kidnapped her and sold her to the Sea Hag.
LISTEN:

Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside - "This Town"

A n00b's guide to the Fall into Darkness metal festival. It's three days of pure metal, so please bring a change of ear plugs and black T-shirts with illegible band logos on them.
LISTEN:

YOB - "Doom #2"

• Bramble Rose and Alela Diane, during happier times.

I don't want this to become a regular feature on the blog, but I'm a sucker for a lost pet in need. Singer Alela Diane has lost her cat, Bramble Rose. To make matters worse, she is about to embark on a national tour today. Since touring is difficult enough without fearing your cat is stuck in a tree (or worse), she made this handy flier just in case you cross paths with Bramble Rose.

If you happen to spot the cat, please email her immediately. Thank you.

Following a collapse onstage, Morrissey—the only musician that really matters—has been released from the hospital and is recuperating on a grand feather bed pilled high with delicate throw pillows and Oscar Wilde books. (Not that there would ever be a good time for the Mozzer to die, but to take the stage, say "Good evening... probably," perform "This Charming Man," and then crumble to the floor is a pretty amazing way to go.)

We checked with his publicist and Morrissey's upcoming tour will not be canceled (he'll be here on November 30th at the Roseland). Thank you for not dying, Morrissey. A world without you is a world not worth living in.

Do you enjoy live music? Do you like mustaches? Do you want to experience those two things at the same time? Congratulations, you are now a fan of John Oates.

Also, you might be interested in the Parlour, a brand new music venue that has swung open its doors at 2628 SE Powell, inside the space that was (is?) Chaos Cafe. Billing itself as "Southeast Portland's Mustachioed Venue" (I assume that is a good thing) they'll serve up live music and "vegetarian/vegan fare" Fridays-Sundays.

• Jared Castaldi

Few images, punk or otherwise, are as lasting as Black Flag's "The Bars" logo. The simplistic and stark design created by Raymond Pettibon has long since outlasted the band and is a favorite tattoo for those who enjoy getting punk band logos permanently inked into their skin.

Stewart Ebersole is one of those people, and now he has launched Barred For Life, a website devoted to his documentation of "The Bars," plus a blog that follows him in his travels around the country as he photographs the various tattoos. He's currently making his way West and will be in Portland on Wednesday, October 28th, at Discourage Records (737 SE Morrison).

Not only is this project fun for me, but it is fun for the participants because if you (you meaning anybody) has The Bars tattooed on them, and you know about these events, you might simply show up and we will photograph and interview you.

This looks like a lot of fun. Too bad I'm stuck with my damn Henry Rollins tatoo.