They're gonna put that on my tombstone...

I can't count the times I've had a lead guitar player complain "I can't hear the piano". I would play a little riff ank ask "Can you hear that?" "Yeah I hear it now, but I couldn't when we were playing the song". My answer: "Turn your amp down and you can hear somebody besides yourself".

But they never do.

If it's a festive place where people drink and are free to talk then it makes sense that you would have to mic the acoustic piano. All the great jazz clubs in the world (Yoshi's, Blue Note, etc.) mic the piano and this is where the audience is quietly listening. They amplify the acoustic bass too. I went to hear the Yellow Jackets a year ago in a club that holds 250 and they were very loud. Hiromi's band was loud too.