Human voices, their subtleties and nuances are the hardest along with piano to recreate IMHO. Thats where I look first. Ive found capturing those two things and just about everything else falls into place.
The initial post carries a lot of weight too. Ive heard a few rigs over the years myself, and have yet to experience a duplication of a live event, especially an amplified one. A wildly amplified one is about impossible IMO to recreate in ones home.
Emmulate it? Perhaps. Duplicate it? Why? Is hearing no longer important for you? Ive been to some clubs which are simply too loud for me to remain in for long. Im well back from the speakers when I attend these concerts today. Way back and for me its a near waste of time to go as I get a better sound at home.
Newbies point of attempting to corral something realistic rather than chasing realism is a more attainable aspiration. Achieving intimacy and presence is a lot easier to do if the venue supports such items. Football stadiums and huge concert halss seldom convey those feelings by their very nature.
Perception too plays a part I think. For me its a lot easier task for my mind to be OK with 4-6 people standing/sitting behind my speakers and in my listening room, than it is for it to believe there are 50 or 60 folks playing a symphony, or half a dozen folks up on a 60 ft wide stage towering above me kicking out the jams . So those cases remain miniatures. Save for the spotlit or solo performances.
Maybe thats why bluegrass folk, and small jazz combos have a greater believability or feel to them for me and in my system. Ive long since given up the desire to reproduce live rock & roll or pop music but I still play it. So Ill vote for trying to recreate the live acoustic venue too.. it just makes the most sense.