I like going down to the local and hearing good music played well. I can have my nosh & libations in a comfortable chair, usually with a good view of the band, and I don't have to live on crackers and ketchup for two weeks to pay for it.

I see cover songs as part of any bands bona fides to demonstrate that they are capable of playing recognisable music. Any fool can make a bunch of noise, but if they can reproduce a tune I know, I'm more likely to believe that what I hear during the rest of their performance is really what the wanted to play.

An analogy: I never liked Picasso's famous paintings, but I saw the near-photographic accuracy and detail he was capable of in his early stuff, so I was less inclined to dismiss cubism out of hand.