Went to the "jam" last night. Pretty bad. Not so much the musicians but the general overall presentation of the show. Really, really bad sound quality. Really bad acoustics in the room. Really bad mix. Really bad lighting. It is a shame because the idea has merit. It is just that the execution was terrible. It didn't seem that most of the players were performing for the audience. They were there to feed their egos. Why is it that these decent players don't understand stage presence or actually listen to their end product with a critical ear? When you throw a bunch of good players together in a lousy setting, it equals lousy. There was one good act that sounded great (not the house band - their set was boring and sounded horrible). Unfortunately after they played a couple songs they got quickly ushered from the stage in favor of a really bad amateur act that looked and sounded like they just rolled out of bed.
We went there expecting a showcase and found a garage band rehearsal. Had to leave because it went downhill quickly.
I heard that it used to be better when there was a different host. I don't know about that but I know I won't be back under current conditions. Seems like yet another case of management that doesn't care about quality entertainment as long as they are selling drinks. Very sad.