Wow. I love this thread. It's pretty much the exact reasons why I stick to doing live recordings of competitions/festivals for school bands/orchestras/choirs and pianists. Although for every horrible experience, there's probably scores more of good ones.
The most anyone has ever said to me was about how I set up the mics. Apparently ORTF isn't "pretty" enough.
This was at a concert band competition where the only people watching were two judges and a small group of the kids' parents who tagged along for the trip.