We all hear about the major summer festivals taking place across Blighty this ‘09 – but here at There Goes The Fear, we like to bring you previews of those smaller, little known music events too! This week, we’d like to tell you about Evolution 2009. The festival, which started back in 2005, has grown rapidly in both size and popularity over the past few years and Evolution ‘09 looks set to be the biggest and best yet!

The Newcastle-based festival is certainly ahead of the big name summer events in the calender stakes, taking place across the May bank holiday (Sunday 24th – Sunday 25th May). Still, the outdoor shows, which will take place along Gateshead’s quayside, are fully expected to attract a crowd of around 60,000. Judging by the line-up, we can see why!

Headliners confirmed so far include Dizzee Rascal, The Wombats (pictured right), Mystery Jets, The View and The Maccabees. Other impressive TGTF-favourites playing the Evolution Weekender include White Lies, Ladyhawke, Esser, Friendly Fires, Little Boots, Twisted Wheel, Marina and the Diamonds, Chapman Family, VV Brown and The Big Pink.

(And breathhhh….!) Impressive, don’t you agree? You can even catch headline electronica acts such as Boys Noize, Chase & Status Live and Kissy Sell Out over at the dance stage too, should something a little less guitar-based take your fancy.

If it couldn’t get any better, a weekend ticket for Evolution 2009 is priced at just £15! You can also grab a day ticket for £9.50 (note : only weekend tickets are on sale at the moment – day tickets go on sale Thursday!). Furthermore, a contribution of the ticket price will be donated to WaterAid. If you’d like to learn more about the festival and general ticket info, check out Evolution 2009’s website.

The View have announced a series of three shows in mid May working their way down the country.

The Dundee band, whose new album Thom reviewed earlier in the year have been going from strength to strenght recently.

Tickets for the trio of shows go on sale at 10am today reportedly.

Thursday 14th May 2009 – Glasgow Academy
Friday 15th May 2009 – Manchester Academy
Saturday 16th May 2009 – London Forum

To find tickets, we suggest you try using Needtickets. Needtickets.com offers you the most comprehensive ticket service in the UK. With one click you can search every nationwide online ticket agent and as a result you can find tickets for any live music event that can be booked online. Every ticket is 100% guaranteed as Needtickets.com only offers links to official agents.

It’s not very often a band delivers on their promise to come up with a ‘new sound’ which is why the unexpected innovation on ‘Which Bitch?’ is all the more surprising. Furthermore it’s hard to make an impression and stake your claim for album of the year the same month as Animal Collective and White Lies dropped their gallant efforts, but yet again The View defied expectations in blatant disregard for the generic label placed on them. Lead single ‘5rebeccas’ however is a chip off the old block, it’s filled with the boyish guitarism which made ‘Hats Off’ such a success and demands stadium play or at the very least a festival makeover. However it’s when you dwell deeper in to the record that the true genius emerges.

‘Unexpected’ with it’s soft acoustic overlay and stringy backdrop is perfect in it’s composition. The calm eeriness is soothing and chilling all at the same time. The track alone is the best example of the development between the two albums – ‘Hats’ was filled with post-Libertine ramblings as the boys tried to fill the void left by Doherty, Barat an co. This album sees them find a more unique sound and this time they’re the ones pushing the indie boundaries. Another example of this echo filled mania is ‘Glass Smash’ which is energetic and brilliantly rhythmic as the lyrics flow beautifully in contrast with the rough guitars.

The boys have a Kooksy moment on ‘Temptation Dice’ and the ringing of  ‘Always Where I Need To Be’ is present through the track especially during the du-da-du-da-da-da-du singalong. Filled with the sunshine and summer feel of ‘The Don’ the track posses the remains of their debut but in a fresh way. The repeated lyrics “You’re my best friend” also cries out Kooks-esque cringe but it’s not a trackly occurrence as on KONK and so it can be pardoned.

The most admirable is the way that this band have delivered what indie has been craving since The Libertines – a fresh sound, with a different approach and musical quality. Right from the get go the intro ‘Typical Time 2′ radiates a bluesy glow combined with the boys Irish roots as the harmonica (or so I think) swells. The jazzy sax on ‘Covers’ with Paolo Nutini’s vocals gives a folkish feel, and yet again shines as an example of avant-garde-indie.

Despite this they maintain a classically garage indie feel as ‘Shock Horror’ shows. A track that is skank-bound when played live much like ‘Same Jeans.’ The back up of their experimental indie tracks with belters like this ensure that the record succeeds and provides them with enough material to headline festivals over the summer (Glasto anyone? Reading? Leeds?)

Overall ‘Which Bitch?’ should be regarded as – brace yourselves – one of the finest indie albums since the Arctic Monkeys explosive debut. Maybe it was that nobody expected such a change from these Dundeeans, which is why when it came it blew us away further back, but either way this record needs recognition becauase a) it breaks free of the generic indie mould as followed so strictly by The Pigeon Detectives, The Kooks, Kaiser Chiefs etc. etc. and b) it’s generally a fine tuned album and an all round indie rock’n'roll masterpiece.

The View – 5Rebccas Acoustic

The View have announced a string of tour dates for early next year as they gear up for the release of their second album, “Which Bitch?” on 2nd February.

Tickets are on presale now, and go on general sale on Friday (5th December). Tickets are £13 except for London which is £15.60 a ticket.

Monday 9th February 2009 – Manchester Academy 2
Tuesday 10th February 2009 – London KOKO (Shockwaves NME Awards Show)
Wednesday 11th February 2009 – Newcastle University
Thursday 12th February 2009 – Edinburgh Playhouse
Friday 13th February 2009 – Dundee Caird Hall
Sunday 15th February 2009 – Inverness Ironworks
Monday 16th February 2009 – Aberdeen Music Hall
Tuesday 17th February 2009 – Leeds Metropolitan University
Wednesday 18th February 2009 – Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
Thursday 19th February 2009 – Cambridge Junction
Saturday 21st February 2009 – Bristol Anson Rooms
Sunday 22nd February 2009 – Southampton University

The sensational Shockwaves NME Awards shows have been announced for next January and February to start off a 2009 in great style. The likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Wombats and Simian Mobile Disco are among this year’s great gigs, with more to be announced shortly.

Franz Ferdinand’s frontman Alex Kapranos said of their opening night honour: “We’re going to play the gig to celebrate ‘Ulysess’ coming out and Heaven is the best place to go and celebrate. The new songs are the type that should be heard in clubs so we liked the idea of playing a show in one. We want people close to us who are dancing and sweating, that’s the vibe that we want. We definitely don’t want polite theatre shows for this record- we want some excitement!”

Tickets are available exclusively at NME from 9am on Wednesday, 26th November and then go on general sale on Monday 1st December.

UPDATE: More gigs added today (2nd December 2008) – full details below.

Catch the full details of the gigs below:

Tuesday 20th January 2009 – Franz Ferdinand @ London Heaven
Sunday 8th February 2009 – The Gaslight Anthems, Frank Turner and The Polar Bear Club @ London Shepherds Bush Empire
Monday 9th February 2009 – Howling Bells @ London Islington Academy
Tuesday 10th February 2009 – The View @ London Koko
Wednesday 11th February 2009 – Ida Maria @ London Koko
Thursday 12th February 2009 – Ida Maria @ Manchester Club Academy
Thursday 12th February 2009 – Simian Mobile Disco and Chrome Hoof @ London Koko
Friday 13th February 2009 – Ida Maria @ Glasgow Garage
Friday 13th February 2009 – Mystery Jets and Little Boots @ London Shepherds Bush Empire
Sunday 15th February 2009 – Black Lips and Vivian Girls @ London Islington Academy
Monday 16th February 2009 – Secret Machines @ London Islington Academy
Tuesday 17th February 2009 – Iglu and Hartley @ London Islington Academy
Wednesday 18th February 2009 – Black Kids, Boy Crisis, Passion Pit @ London Koko
Wednesday 18th February 2009 – Tricky @ Manchester Club Academy
Wednesday 18th February 2009 – Iglu and Hartley @ Manchester Academy 3
Thursday 19th February 2009 – Tricky @ Glasgow Arches
Thursday 19th February 2009 – Iglu and Hartley @ Glasgow QMU
Thursday 19th February 2009 – Roots Manuva @ London Koko
Friday 20th February 2009 – Tricky @ London Shepherds Bush Empire
Monday 23rd February 2009 – Wombats @ London Shepherds Bush Empire
Tuesday 24th February 2009 – Metronomy @ London Koko
Tuesday 24th February 2009 – Wombats @ Manchester Academy
Thursday 26th February 2009 – Wombats @ Glasgow Barrowlands

The View have announced quite possibly one of the biggest tours this year as they embark on a 35 date UK tour this October and November.

Lets hope they don’t wear the same jeans throughout, else come Dundee they’ll be able to walk home on their own.

Tickets are on sale now. Catch them at:

Thursday 16th October – Dunfermline Velocity
Friday 17th October – Inverness Raigmore
Saturday 18th October – Forres The Loft
Sunday 19th October – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Tuesday 21st October – Newcastle Academy 2
Wednesday 22nd October – Hull Welly Club
Thursday 23rd October – Manchester Moho Live
Friday 24th October – Nottingham Bodega
Sunday 26th October – Wrexham Central Station
Monday 27th October – Swansea Sin City
Tuesday 28th October – Shrewsbury Buttermarket
Thursday 30th October – Falmouth Princess Pavilion
Friday 31st October – Brighton Old Market
Saturday 1st November – Reading After Dark
Sunday 2nd November – Gloucester Guildhall
Tuesday 4th November – Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Wednesday 5th November – Milton Keynes Woughton Centre
Thursday 6th November – Colchester Arts Centre
Friday 7th November – Stoke Sugarmill
Sunday 9th November – Norwich Arts Centre
Monday 10th November – Sheffield Plug
Tuesday 11th November – Carlisle Brickyard
Wednesday 12th November – Glasgow King Tuts
Sunday 16th November – Middlesbrough Cornerhouse
Monday 17th November – Leeds Faversham
Tuesday 18th November – Liverpool Barfly
Wednesday 19th November – Oxford Academy
Friday 21st November – London Astoria
Saturday 22nd November – Bristol Thekla
Sunday 23rd November – Cardiff The Point
Monday 24th November – Leicester Charlotte
Wednesday 26th November – York Duchess
Thursday 27th November – Aberdeen Lemon Tree
Saturday 29th November – Kirkcaldy Ocean
Sunday 30th November – Dundee Fat Sams