[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

It's pretty pathetic most of the time. I am so tired of seeing a singer up there with a "band in a box". I don't consider karaoke to be live music. I want to see real musicians playing real instruments. I've gotten to the point now where if I don't see a drum set, I just leave. I am not interested in seeing people push buttons and play recorded music. It's just awful.
Unfortunately, a lot of the people don't mind. As long as there is a beat that they can line dance to, not much else matters to them.
I'm a musician myself and I have friends in the area that are working musicians. One is a great entertainer and plays guitar. He performs with his "band in a box". I asked him why he just get up there with his guitar and entertain people. He told me that the owners don't want that. They want to hear drums and bass even if it's pre recorded. They want to dance. Well, if it's dance music they want, they can just play a loop of pre recorded tracks and not have to pay anyone.
I played in several places overseas as a solo act with just a guitar and the people always seemed to be entertained.