You are lucky to have a guy tell it like it is exactly how it is. That guy is Mcgyvercasterguy. Good going McVcstr! I would agree 100%. The bands that have staying power and that really want to succeed do the stuff you wrote about. Been there done that and guess what? It freakin' works dude! Our band did that stuff and we became the top paid club band in town. Offers coming over the phone.

As far as the guitar player not trimming the strings-- I didn't notice that BUT if they are real long and flop around they WILL make the guitar go out of tune easy. That's not a good thing. The very first and most noticeable thing I heard was the flat singing. You have to take care of that first. Most non musicians can't tell if the drummer blows or the bass player sucks or if the guitar player is a "wanna bee" BUT they can sure tell if the singer blows chunks---- However your singer does not hurl against a wall-- he just needs a little work on the pitch. Killer light shows help a band too. Good luck !!!!