There are a lot of excellent singers & musicians out there, but unless they can 'put it across' it doesn't put bums on seats. (by the way Tom is an excellent communicator as well as being a great singer/songwriter/musician).
I've sat through some worthy singers, excellent musicians and still been bored to tears, because they either dont have charisma or havn't developed a good stage act.
Back to the question in point ours would be a Cat 3 type club & I tend to agree with David's observation about the audience split on guest/singers night. On singers nights there are always one or two singers who we only ever see when they want an ego boost, and on guest nights there are a few who only come to see guests.
I might add that our club thrives under the model we use & have a panel of excellent resident singers who provide warm up for the guests we have on fortnightly & provide a backbone for the singers nights.
Cheers Les