I'm with Jed on this. I spent years with my band mixing from the stage, because we didn't have a choice. It was a frustrating exercise, and eventually we decided to hire a sound man and consider him a fifth member of the band (and pay him accordingly). Someone you trust running the sound from the front of the house is the best way to go.

The "trust" aspect is vital. It sounds like Rick has been working with one or more soundmen (or "soundpersons," if you like) who can't be trusted to mix according to his tastes -- possibly ones hired by the venue, rather than by his band. I have dealt with that, too, and it can drive you up a wall. The musicians tend to "solve" this problem by doing more of their boosting/cutting on their own, using whatever controls are close at hand (volume knobs, proximity effects, etc.), as Jed has described.

I think Barbara's point is an excellent one; the musicians need to act like musicians, and use their ears to gauge the dynamics of the whole band, increasing or decreasing their own intensity based on how the whole band sounds (not just their own contribution). But when you factor in the amplified sound, the noise associated with the crowd and/or venue, the way additional bodies absorb sound, and the way your ears can get fatigued as the night goes on, the musicians can use all the help they can get. This becomes increasingly important the louder you get, the more members you have, the larger the venues are, the rowdier the crowds, etc.

Realistically, most of us like to hear a little more of ourselves than is ideal -- the guitar player wants a little more guitar, the mandolin player wants a little more mandolin, etc. [This applies to all types of musicians, by the way, whether they're playing in a rock and roll band or a symphony; ever wonder why the violin evolved to an instrument that is held under the chin?] A good monitor mix can give you this, while the front-of-house mix is more balanced, and the sound man adjusts for the changes that inevitably occur between the time the band sets up and the last song of the night.

If you want to go with a single or dual mic setup, or to mixing from the stage so as to keep the control in your own hands, I recommend trying it for a night with a trusted friend (one with good ears who is brutally honest) sitting out front.