Death Cab for Cutie performed at Safeco Field yesterday for the opening home game of their hometown major league baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. Rather than bust out the Death Cab hits or or make 30,000 sports fans weep with an acoustic “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla, Nick Harmer, and Jason McGerr broke out a couple classic baseball songs: John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” and traditional tune “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

I was scouring the web for decent video of the 2-song set to no avail last night, but finally a watchable quality YouTube arrived this morning. (It’s one of those camcorder-filming-the-TV deals. Meh.)

The Bellingham quartet look like they went to town in the stadium souvenir shop, as they’re dressed head-to-toe in Mariners garb. It’s an odd performance and venue, obviously, but the Fogerty cover is particularly fun. Watch Death Cab play Opening Day below:

Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner of Mates of State are only in the beginning stages of prepping for their sixth LP, but fans of the husband-and-wife duo will have at least 10 carefully-chosen cover tunes to enjoy during the wait. Mates of State announced today that The Covers Mixtape, a 10-track album featuring ambitious versions of songs by the likes of Nick Cave, the Mars Volta, Daniel Johnston, Vashti Bunyan, Girls, Tom Waits, Death Cab For Cutie, and more, will hit shelves this summer.

In fact, it was this covers project that “jumpstart[ed] the creation of the next Mates of State record,” the band said in a press release (via CoS). “When we were finished, we couldn’t wait to write our own songs again…”

Check out the full tracklist, and stream/download their cover of Girls’ “Laura” below:

After “following [his] nose for so many years,” Death Cab for Cutie guitarist and producer Chris Walla has signed the first band, Anacortes, Washington’s The Lonely Forest, to his new Atlantic Records imprint, Trans.

The Stranger reports that Walla first heard the indie rock quartet after the release of their second LP, We Sing the Body Electric!, which was released via Seattle-based label Burning Building last year. Though Walla has been considering the move from guitarist to producer to record label A&R man for many years, “[t]his wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for the Lonely Forest,” he said. “They’re a phenomenal band.”

After one listen (my first) to the song “We Sing In Time” on their MySpace page, here’s hoping Walla continues to follow his nose.

You knew this was coming, right? Well perhaps you put it out of your mind (as I did), but the inevitable song licensing/school chorus tycoons behind Kidz Bop have gotten all of this year’s biggest chart-toppers to sign along the dotted line for the forthcoming 17th volume of “songs sung by kids for kidz.”

Sure, Kelly Clarkson covered “Use Somebody” already, as did Nickelback, but I’m calling it: Kings of Leon’s breakthrough hit is officially up for grabs at this point. In a weird way, I almost prefer the Kidz Bop version over the previously mentioned two, but that’s just choosing the lesser of three evils, I suppose.

And then there’s the inevitable Kidz cover of Death Cab’s Owl City’s “Fireflies” and Death Cab For Cutie’s New Moon anthem “Meet Me On The Equinox.” Twee as ugh…

Stream all this stuff here if you dare, but be forewarned: only the penitent man kid, shall pass.

Honestly, I usually hate this People magazine stuff, but artists are dying left and right (right?) and we need some levity around here. We all know by now that Ben Gibbard grew his hair out and married She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel—much to the chagrin of indie-minded bros who use phrases like “much to the chagrin.” Well, Death Cab for cutie bassist Nick Harmer is ready to tie the knot now too (if that there Twitter is to be believed).

“Engaged!” Harmer announced to the twittering masses. So who is set to marry the man with the most identifiable hairline on the entire New Moon soundtrack? All we know is that her first name is Kate: “[N]ick has been calling me ‘fiancé knowles’,” tweeted one of Harmer’s sole followees, “which makes me VERY happy!”

Sources close to the couple say that Kate is not Ben Folds’ ex-girlfriend, but, in fact, a San Francisco-based designer/illustrator. Sorry, that “sources close to the couple” bit was an ill-conceived inside joke, but the latter part is Twittertrue at least.

Meanwhile, sources that are not close to the couple say: Congrats, Nick and Kate!

Jay Farrar recently hammered yet another nail in the Uncle Tupelo coffin in a Q&A with Metromix Greenville, saying, “I don’t ever want to see [an Uncle Tupelo reunion] happen, and I don’t think even what Perry Ferrell suggests will make it happen.” What Perry Ferrell had suggested was that a Jane’s Addiction reunion would happen “when the sky rains money.” So the bad news is that money can’t buy a Jeff Tweedy/Farrar reunion, but the good news is that his Kerouac-inspired collaboration with Ben Gibbard makes a pretty good replacement in the interim.

The pair enlisted Nick Harmer, Mark Spencer, and Jon Wurster for a 6-night jaunt through a few major U.S. cities and they even branched out a bit from their album One Fast Move or I’m Gone. Watch here or embedded below as Gibbard and Farrar perform a duet version of Tom Waits’ Closing Time classic “Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards).”

Don’t these guys look like they could be brothers?

There was a quite a hubbub (God, I hate that word) recently about the likes of Death For Cutie, Bon Iver, and Thom Yorke possibly setting out on a tour of the U.S. of A.’s Hot Topic stores in support of the New Moon soundtrack. Well, part of that scandal is kinda true. Kinda.

ShockHound (a Hot Topic-owned site) reports that the Twilight Saga: New Moon Talent Tour is totes launching next week in Hollywood, but the big stars (Death Cab, Band of Skulls) are only performing at the first show. Anya Marina or Hurricane Bells, however, will be at the remaining shows. There will also be a Q&A with cast members, including that guy from the movie and that girl, as well as those other guys and girls from the movie as well.

Here’s the full schedule, so mark your calendars… in blood! Muahahaha. And I’m spent:

Sorry to bombard everyone with tour date news today, but this one’s too cool to pass up. Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Son Volt’s Jay Farrar are taking their upcoming batch of Jack Kerouac-inspired songs, One Fast Move or I’m Gone, on a brief road (plane) trip for four gigs in LA, New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago later this month, PlugInMusic reports.

What’s more, their backup band will include Death Cab bassist Nick Harmer, Son Volt’s Mark Spencer, and Jon Wurster of Mountain Goats and Superchunk. Tickets for these concerts supposedly already went on sale, but I can only find a link for the LA concert here. Based on our first listen from the album, I’d say these gigs will be epic.

Check out the Gibbard/Farrar pseudo supergroup’s 4-city trek below:

10/23 - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
10/24 - Bimbo’s 365 Club - San Francisco, CA
10/26 - Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL
10/28 - Webster Hall - New York, NY

Still no audio from Thom Yorke’s or Bon Iver’s contributions to the New Moon soundtrack, but we finally have more than a snippet of Death Cab For Cutie’s lead off single, “Meet Me On The Equinox.” Check out the full song here or embedded below.

Meanwhile, watch Death Cab’s resident Twilight fanboy Chris Walla discuss the “Edward vs. Jacob” debate while Ben Gibbard looks on with a bit of a smirk on his face thataway. Oh, we can’t all be cool like you, Mr. Deschanel.