I bought a Tascam DR 40 which makes it simple to record all my gigs straight off the RCA outs of my mixer. This as you know will give you a very up front vocal. I use backing tracks so there's no goof ups coming from the band, I mike my guitar amp and it's in there too. 
 
Anyhow, It's very humbling to listen to the play back after you had what was perceived as a killer night. Where the dance floor was packed and you received a lot of positive feedback and praise for a job well done. I won't even let my dog listen to the playback...
But the results are I never have swollen headed about my talent, I am always humble and no my place in the pecking order of life.  i love that line from American pie:
 
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
 

Beepster
If you heard the raw tracks of your favorite albums in isolation you would likely hear plenty of "warts".

Valid point.... I came across some stems for killer queen and being a bass player listened to John Deacon's playing and was surprised at how .... 'imperfect' it was.
Admitted they could be stems from a demo or whatever as I've no idea where they came from.
Another thing about warts is they're supposed to add 'character' well not to sure about that but being a bass player I have found that a 'Less than perfect' take can still sound great as the 'Warts' are obscured by the rest of the track

I have a Fender Jazz fretless that I use from time to time and that thing is pretty unforgiving when it comes to technique. It is funny how something that you play on it may sound full of warts while recording can sound really pretty good when on playback.

slartabartfast

You cannot really escape the need to shape your work to its best quality by not caring about how it will sound to others. That is as much a false path as trying to distort your work to please someone else, if it does not ring true to you.

+1