Live Review : Mad Haven + No Favors + Flint Guitar School @ The Motorsport Lounge , Llandudno on September 12th 2025
Tonight we are here to celebrate the return of local band Mad Haven in their hometown venue. The nucleus of the band, guitarist/vocalist Tom Rogowski and drummer Alex (his brother) have had a rough time of it this year. Events unfolded which pulled the rug of their planned future out from under them, so it’s good to see them here again recovering their poise and smiles with their original band.
The Motorsport lounge has undergone something of a transformation since our last visit. Although the original upstairs bar and stage remain, tonight they were in darkness as we tested a new, bigger stage with a new, bigger bar and a new, better sound on the ground floor. Pleased to report that all was good!
The evening started somewhat hesitantly with the lads and lasses of Flint Guitar School, a collective of music students of all ages and all abilities who come together in a kind of loose jam session to test their prowess in front of a live audience. The results are mostly good, and although their repertoire is covers they spread over a wide range of genres and some of them show a great deal of promise.
They are followed by No Favors, who are an original 80’s band that come from Stoke. Now Stoke has a couple of famous rock sons to its name (step forward Lemmy and Slash!) so despite No Favors never reaching their dizzy heights of fame we are pleased to find a solid, no nonsense classic band playing solid, no-nonsense rock and metal. There have been line-up changes galore over the years, and their recorded output has been less than prolific but they soldier on regardless. The current lead guitarist is the son of the rhythm guitarist, who is one of the founder members, so there is a good rapport between them as they blast out riffs and solos. The vocals are epic, bringing to mind both Rob Halford and Biff from Saxon, and throughout it all the beat pound on. Heads shake and toes tap to the music, and it’s a great if somewhat unexpected warm-up to the main attraction.
Mad Haven then. The Brothers Rogowski have been playing together on and off in this band since they were grubby-kneed schoolboys, and it shows. A recent return to their roots has seen them reunite with bassist Adam (who was the best fit ever because not only is he a great player, he’s also a fellow “strawberry blonde”) and already the creative bug has bitten and the trio are working on new material. That means tonight we get the welcome return of a couple of old favourite songs alongside the infiltration of some newer ones. It’s all done in good spirit, and their brand of catchy, hook-laden rock soon has the crowd joining in and lifting the mood. Tom gets to shine in terms of the odd solo, this lad lives and breathe rock n’ roll, his experiences playing in other bands over the last couple of years have tightened up his playing until it veritably squeaks. Now being a comeback show they want to provide something special – pyro, right? Well no, they can’t afford that so instead they get everyone grinning by giving out party poppers instead and Tom treats himself to a glitter bomb! It’s not the most effective erm effect, but it nicely sums up the tone of the evening. The vocal harmonies provided by the two brothers are a standout feature in this band, and add depth and character to their songs.
It's fairly lightweight and very melodic, with a beat that just keeps you moving from start to finish. There were a handful of standout songs; ‘Tell Me I’m Sane’ is a little ditty about your life going to shit that turns into something of an epic power ballad. ‘All The Same To Me’ takes its vibe from Bryan Adams, and ‘Wasted On You’ is a catchy anthem with a riff to die for. They finish with ‘Take Control’, a proper party anthem, and I think it’s safe to say that Mad Haven have indeed done just that. They have taken back control of their lives and their music, and it was a joy to see them back doing what they do best.
Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Mad Haven + No Favors + Flint Guitar School