There were small signs leading up to it from 2000 on so it wasn't a huge surprise to me when the Pixies got back together in 2004. Frank Black was reaching back to early solo material ("Surf Epic" into "Dog in the Sand"), then "Velvety"- the Pixies's instrumental B-side got words on Devil's Workshop, and finally the Pixies started to rehearse together and did a bunch of warm-up dates in Canada.
It was exciting, not only because they were finally playing together again, but because they recorded two new songs: "Bam Thwok" written for potential use in a Shrek sequel, and "Ain't That Pretty At All" for a Warren Zevon tribute album.
I got to see them in Lowell, MA in December of that year, and as good as it was, it wasn't the thrill it would've been for me a few years back. It's hard to say exactly why.
Throughout the reunion there were a lot of rumors back and forth; FB was willing but Kim Deal wasn't interested- she said she'd sooner record a record with her mother before getting back into the studio with Black, causing one poster on the Frank Black Forum to comment, "She didn't rule out a new Pixies album, she just said she wants to do a record with her mom first".
Now it's 2009 and the Pixies just did a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle, playing the whole album and the related B-sides. And by the way, that's part of what I think would've made the 2004 shows better- for the most part, the stuck to songs you'd expect, the ones like "Where Is My Mind" and "Debaser" and "Wave of Mutilation". People want to hear "Build High" and "All Over The World" and "The Navaho Know" and "Santo".
Someone pointed out something in their review of the Doolittle tour: the Pixies reunion has lasted almost as long as their original run, and still there've been only two new songs and one was a cover. Meaning: If something was going to happen it should've happened by now.
That's the disappointing thing.
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