There are a few things you can count on when attending Stevie Wonder’s semi-annual House Full of Toys Christmas benefit concert.

A great cause (or, this year, causes, with proceeds going to victims of Southern California’s recent wildfires). Lots of holiday cheer. Plenty of talented guests. And, of course, the sheer awe inspired by Stevie, who’s arguably the greatest living singer-songwriter-musician—if not the Greatest Of All Time.

But like LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers so far, Stevie’s shows at Staples Center have left something to be desired—or left plenty of room for growth, depending on your perspective.

This was the second edition of the concert since it took up residence inside the centerpiece of LA Live. Last year’s show was plagued by technical mishaps and delays, with performances dragging past midnight.

This year’s entry featured much of the same. The main show didn’t begin until over a half hour past the scheduled start time. Delays between acts forced comedian Chris Spencer and Aisha Morris, Stevie’s daughter, to stall with stories and jokes.

Staples Center’s less-than-ideal acoustics aside, the sound took a hit from miscues with the mics. While attempting to sing a duet with her dad on “Little Drummer Boy,” Aisha Morris, one of Stevie’s daughters, fell silent in front of a malfunctioning microphone.

Issues like these are practically canon for Stevie, to the degree that he and Aisha cracked wise about time. And to some extent, they are to be expected of an ensemble show that, this year, included the likes of Anderson .Paak, Leon Bridges, Lukas Nelson, Chante Moore, Ro James, PJ Morton, Ella Mai, Daley and Ari Lennox. Shuffling artists onto and off of the stage—with all those changes in equipment—is bound to take time and cross wires.

But there’s a certain disappointment that attends seeing those issues come at the expense of great talent, Stevie’s included. As sensational as it was to hear Stevie serenade the crowd with classics like “That’s What Christmas Means to Me,” “Winter Wonderland” (with Morton) “My Cherie Amour” (with Moore), “You and I” (with Daley), “Overjoyed,” “Superstition,” “As” and “Another Star,” it was tough to shake the interminable waits and awkward introductions. Surely, Nelson, who captivated the audience with his song “Find Yourself” and co-wrote a slew of tunes in Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born,” deserved more credit than being brought on as Willie Nelson’s son. Ditto for Bridges, who sang his beautiful ballad “River” after being billed by Aisha as recognizable for the songs he’s put in commercials—rather than, say, for his Grammy nominations.

Add to those Stevie’s announcement of a long list of corporate sponsors at the top of the show and the so-so spot for a boy band called 4th Ave, and the pile of faux pas became too much to ignore.

Between Stevie’s generational gifts, the star power of his guests and the charitable efforts toward which proceeds from House Full of Toys contribute, Staples Center should be packed to the rafters with holiday revelers. Instead, there was room to roam throughout the building and plenty of cheap tickets available online. Given the reputation the show has for its problems—and the level at which it lived up to said reputation this year—it’s easy to see why that was the case and tough to blame folks for staying home.