Played a few heavy chassidic gigs recently...
At one affair, we had the volume significantly louder than we prefer; this was necessary to fill the room and accomodate the size of the crowd. At the event, we had several people come over at various points to say how annoying it is that the music at simchos these days is so painfully loud... and what a pleasure it is to hear low-volume music that allows them to talk and isn't headache-inducing.
At another, we had two people come over and compliment the music, especially the classical music. Interesting praise, considering we hadn't played any classical music all night; just chassidic nigunim, some klezmer, and one ballad each by Shalsheles and Lev Tahor.
These vignettes demonstrate that the affair you play may not have been the event the guests attended. Go figure!
