First Friday Social at Left Handed Giant happily providing me with pre-drinks, I stagger over to The Ill Repute for my first time there, quickly realising that this is very much going to be a “corner of a pub” gig, certainly moreso than I’d vaguely been expected. Cowboyy’s debut EP “Epic The Movie” had proved to be unexpectedly infectious to me, which translated nicely to the “stage”. It is the product of a band with intense focus on itself and the music, proper staring at the guitar vibes, and fussily undoing the uncalled for adjustments being made by the sound guy wandering onto the stage mid song. Gmaps is the closest thing to a crowdpleaser they have, and the way it ripples through the room is palpable. The new stuff they’re trying out (give them a break, they’ve got one EP) is already developed beyond their early efforts. Ater the show, I catch the frontman outside, tell him how much the last song on the EP has stuck with me, and he is genuinely taken aback, and it’s nice to see a band at that level for a change, where that actually does make a difference. Local band Tour Body are exciting support, someone to come back to.