I still do quite a mix of full band, duo and solo work. Personally, I don't feel like buying three different PA's and an arranger with speakers built in (none that have them impress me much) so I can take the absolute minimum in that the gig calls for. If you play with a drummer, the truth is, your PA needs are radically greater than doing a solo for a NH.

Happily, nowadays, you can still throw out a decent volume with little more than a powered sub, a powered mixer and two top cabs. Or skip the powered mixer and use good quality powered tops. Compared to what most bands use, that's still only a light rig! But I wouldn't want to risk putting a band into a Compact!

I appreciate that Dave's solution works for HIM (and many others here) but some of us still work in situations where we AREN'T background noise to distract those not watching the 15 TV's in the room! On the whole, I'd rather serve fries than be so marginalized nobody cares what I sound like, play on, or do! The day my primary concern is how fast I can get the hell out of a gig to go to the next engagement where they care exactly as little, I'm hanging up my spurs!