I still don't understand. Why do you attend a session in a public place if not because there's an audience there? If you don't want/don't care about/are bothered by the public, why don't you just have your friends over and play in the kitchen? Trying to pretend you're playing music in pub for any reason other than to play music in public is kind of silly.

I for one much prefer the atmosphere in a pub and I find being in someone elses house usually feels a bit stuffy. A pub has the advantage of being open to passing players and singers. There's even the off chance that someone hearing the music gets interested enough to learn the music and participate.