Somtimes You Just Gotta Take Charge!

So we had a gig two nights ago and played at a pretty rough looking place. The table right in front of the band was full of about 15 huge lineman football looking guys and the word was that if they did not like the band we would be booed heckled and intimidated off stage. Our drummer is not very good and when he gets nervous he can't keep from rushing and dragging and he was nervous as hell (sort of an anxiety prone type of guy). We have drums, bass, one guitar and singer who plays harp, we are Blues and Classic Rock band. We are not wimply guys by any means but these guys in the audience were monsters, I mean like 6 foot 6 and well over 300 pounds.

So what to do in this situation?

Step 1. Turn up really really loud to cover over the neurotic drummer.
Step 2. Try to summon up Jack Bruce's spirit and plead with him to take possession of your body.

It could not have turned out better. We grooved and the whole place loved us. The huge guys were are greatest fans all night long and it was a great feeling.

Moral of the story is excactly the title of this thread.

Welcoming any thoughts or similar type experiences.