At our club(We certainly don't always get things right), we have to turn people down for a variety or reasons. In many cases, some of the acts are really good and we might even enjoy them ourselves under other circumstances.

We are fortunate enough to have a very good venue but, therein, lies other issues. It holds a maximum of roughly 150 people which is great when we wish to book the Carthys, Simpsons, Gaughans of this world. However, the lay out of the room ensures that it's still a nice atmosphere with between 50-70 people and so we don't necessarily have to have the place "packed to the gunnels" every week.

However, when we get much below 50 or so people, it can start to look a little more spacious and if we only bring in around 20-30 it can sometimes feel a wee bit depressing. Also, it even influence the actual performance although guests are expected to be professional... Usually, a nice "buzz" about the place rubs off on the main guest and the perfromance does gain an extra edge.

It's also the case, that unlike many other clubs, our overheads are quite high and we would normally require to have an audience of 50+ to break even on most nights.

As it is, some of our nights don't always break even(For various reasons) although it *usually* balances out over the year. However, when booking acts we have to do so on the basis that they have at least a "fighting chance" of paying their way. Of course, not all of them will do this no matter how well we plan for the situation.

So, that leaves lots of good performers many of whom are quality acts whom we have to disappoint not because of their musical (in)ability but because they wont "suit" our venue. However, for a smaller club with few overheads, such acts are ideal.