Also, a high-stress environment (right before going on stage, right before going into battle) can get entirely different reactions than people sitting in a club sipping drinks.

Author here, you're right that this can happen.

There was a comedian once that was talking about the craft of stand up comedy, and he told a story about one of the favorite jokes he ever wrote. He was impressed with how well crafted and and smart the joke was. So he tries it out and every time it bombs with the audience. A more experienced comic watches him tell it, and after his set talks to him and feels the same way about how beautiful a joke it is. “It’s amazingly set up, wonderfully designed, incredibly smart. And it’ll never work. It’s too smart. Look, these people just got off work, and they just want to have a few drinks and have a few laughs. They’re not going to be interested in a joke that clever.”