How could Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis, aka Frank Black) have simply ended the Pixies during a phone interview without telling the rest of the band? A new documentary about the group's 2004 reunion tour, loudQUIETloud, contains a telling clue: The members barely talk. They don't seem to hate one another, but they do little more than exist in the same rooms, quietly pinballing through the tour like employees from different departments at an offsite company event. Another revelation in the film: The Pixies seem to question, seriously, whether anybody will care about the show, as if an army of thirtysomethings wouldn't leave the kids with the dog to hear Thompson howl in Spanish or belt out his supremely confident "Hey!" in the song "Hey" (followed by that aching "Been trying to meetchoo"). It's a bit like Stephen Malkmus questioning the appeal of Pavement. 

Of course, the tour sold out venues in minutes. Luckily, directors Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin got in early.  We see the band's first rehearsal in years, a golden moment that starts with Thompson nailing his "Hey" but flubbing the line about the devil between us and the whores at the door. The concert footage might even leave you teary, with the group playing to giddy singalong crowds throughout Europe and North America. Off stage, the members keep to themselves: The singer attends to phone interviews and lounges like a king (often shirtless); Kim Deal attaches herself to cigarettes, nonalcoholic beer, and her sister Kelly; David Lovering has something of a breakdown while drumming to the wicked "Something Against You" (he's a bit of a wild card, what with the Valium); and Joey Santiago, a little depressingly, struggles through his side job scoring a soundtrack on a Mac in hotel rooms (the royalty checks aren't what they used to be). When the talk turns to new Pixies songs, the lack of communication could make you pound nails into your face: Thompson says he'll record new songs once the band books studio time, and Deal says the band is waiting for Thompson to record new songs. Naturally, they don't say this to each other, and there are still no new songs.