Post-punk’s Pixies to seek old magic

After weeks of Internet postings of fan predictions, wish lists and more than a few bizarre rumors (our favorite: Lynyrd Skynyrd will be playing there), the organizers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival have finally announced their 2004 lineup and the tickets will go on sale Saturday.

Yes, it includes a Pixies reunion on the first night of the May 1-2 show, and, yes, the much-revered Radiohead and Wilco will both play the same night. And, yes, the Cure, Flaming Lips, Air and Belle & Sebastian should all make the second night an arty, otherworldly affair.

“It’s pretty amazing this year; we’re thrilled,” said Paul Tollett of Goldenvoice, the concert promoters behind the desert festival that will celebrate its fifth anniversary with this year’s edition at the polo fields in Indio. “There is a lot of excitement about the Pixies. We booked their first L.A. show, at the Roxy back in 1988, and so now it’s like we’ve come full circle with them.”

The Boston-born Pixies -- who were singer-guitarist Frank Black (a.k.a. Black Francis), guitarist Joey Santiago, bassist Kim Deal and drummer Dave Lovering -- broke up in late 1992 after establishing a sound that would influence the entire post-punk landscape. Their reunion tour, the first road trip since they opened U2’s “Zoo TV” shows 12 years ago, will ramp up with an 11-city mini-tour in April.

Tollett said there are also a “lot of super delicacies in the lineup,” bands and DJs that will appeal to the discerning music fans who look for new, exotic and hard-to-hear sounds. Among them are Future Sound of London, Atmosphere, Air, Bright Eyes, Stereolab, BRMC and Desert Sessions.

The latter is the stage project of Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and features a never-the-same collection of players.

“I don’t know what we’ll see but it should be great,” Tollett said.

Oh, and what about that Skynyrd rumor? That free bird has not flown, he said. “I heard that. I’m not really sure where that came from. Some things I can confirm or deny. That one, I can definitely deny.”

More information on the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is available on the Internet at goldenvoice.com. Tickets will be $75 for one day, $140 for both.

-- Geoff Boucher