Bachus, Not only have I've seen this take place at this venue, I've seen it at several venues during the past several weeks. The band members all have I-pads and Iphones, and they are mounted on flimsy music stands in front of the player/performer. The band leader says "OK, we're going to play an often requested song by The Eagles. Hotel California." At that point the band members are all scrolling, looking at tiny print, trying to find Hotel California. Those flimsy stands are rocking back and forth as the players try to tap those touch screens and hit the correct area, which is damned near impossible from what I saw.

My point is that all of this could have easily and efficiently accomplished using a netbook PC, and at about the same price. However, the netbook has all the features of of a PC and does not need apps to accomplish those goals. Netbooks are very easy to navigate using a touch-pad, or a wireless mini-mouse, which can easily be concealed. Additionally, you can have more than one screen opened at a time and still be able to read the printed information on the screen.

Now, maybe I'm old and cantankerous, but I still embrace technology when it's beneficial to my onstage performances. That's why I use an arranger keyboard, netbook, vocal processor, and other devices that not only make me sound good, but in addition, keep that music flowing throughout the performance. The guy playing the guitar, fiddle, sax, trumpet etc... was unable to get to his I-pad while playing and singing. He had to wait till he had finished that song, then go to the I-pad to select the next one. He was a reader and without that sheet music right in front of him he was lost. Additionally, he had no method of scrolling the sheets, so he had to quickly reach up and tap the screen while playing in order to get to the next page. None of these things seem very beneficial to me, an onstage entertainer/performer/musician. I would love to see one I-pad or I-Phone in action where this phenomena has not happened - but to date, this has not happened. All of this technology is neat stuff, but some of it just does not appeal to those of us that perform daily onstage in front of audiences.

All the best,

Gary