Murray, I appreciate that your experiences as an audience member have been different from mine.

Again, whether any of us has seen arrogant folk performers isn't the crux of this issue for me. Rather, my point about the importance of balancing the technical side of performing with the stage presence/performance aspect, is what matters most. To me, the best performing musicians DO take the audience into account, and spend a good amount of time and energy honing their performance skills and creating a memorable stage presence.

Of course, I am speaking of professional musicians who make a living on concert stages, not professional musicians who make a living playing the pub/bar circuits. I don't hold those types of music acts to the same standards as I do performing artists on a stage, where the performance is the only attraction. At pubs and bars, there is a lot more going on, and so a different dynamic is in effect.