Well I play other gigs as well, just not that many at the moment.
The only comment I ever had about my bass was when I turned up to a Working Man's Club cover band dep with my Jackson Charvel complete with pointy headstock and the band leader took one look at it and said "Just stick to the roots - nothing flash."
Not long after that I bought my current bass which looks a bit less flash and looks far more expensive than it was.
Sounds like January might be an expensive month for me, currently eyeing up some £1700 basses to get rid of some cash I have lying around.