Our singer insisted on spot mics for voice, piano, and guitar. An MS pair covered the rest of the band. The singer sat sideways to the audience and was quite low in level relative to the rest of the band. The engineer did an on the fly mix.
We were trying to make a good recording, rather than faithfully reproduce the live sound. Last year, a single MS or XY pair of mics covered everything and everyone, and the singer faced the audience 10 to 15 ft out in front of the instruments. This year was different.
Playback levels are critical, as noted. I relied on audience feedback to set them, and it depended on where you sat. When I listened from the audience, with levels set to match my listening position, the sound was extremely realistic on both the live music and CD playback.