Seamus, you seem to think that those who support your view are OK, but those who question it are "Telling you how to do your job". Some of these (Anahata for one) are respected performers in their own right; others are occasional performers; all are regular listeners to other people's acts, and as such are entitled to express a view about the performances they see.

You don't have to heed anyone's views if you don't want to, but many performers are interested to know what their audience enjoy, and what turns them off and why. You evidently don't care much how your act is perceived by your audience - that's entirely up to you.

Incidentally, I never said there should not be any patter, only that if the performer couldn't be naturally and spontaneously funny, it would be better, IMO, to forget the patter and stick to the music. I can't for the life of me see what's snobbish about that.

Marje