I've played plenty of "paid rehearsals" in my time and it takes a thick skin (and lots of experience) to remain unaffected bt it.
Happily, these days my band play for fun and any money we earn is a bonus, but we do try to avoid bookings where we know there isn't a "music crowd" simply because the best part of making music is making a connection with your audience.
I remember one night in a local club where a table at the front, consisting of burly drunks, kept requesting Elvis songs (not part of my repartiore). Nowadays I would have come up with a version of something to shut them up but at that time I was too frightened to stray from my well practised set list. The calls for "Elvis" broke into a chant as I fumbled onwards through a Jim Croce song until, thankfully, I finished the set.
Leaving the stage to a ripple of sympathetic applause, I was approached by one of the goons from the front table who proceeded to shake my hand and thank me for a great night! I was too stunned to even reply!