I use an iPad when performing, and when my band plays, there are 4 iPads. I have prepared things so that at a gig, all the iPads are networked. I am the one who calls up the songs ... either via a set list (prepared order of songs), or via "on-the-fly" requests and "feeling" what the audience might like. It takes me ~2 seconds to call up any song. The other 3 iPads instantly also show that same song. I change the pages (when needed) instantly, and all the other iPads change automatically.

I now have it so my keyboard's Registration changes to the song registration instantly too. So, I can call up any song and be playing it within ~2-3 seconds.

For this use, the iPads simply replace having music books to carry, to flip through, or to have pages lowing in the wind (at outdoor gigs), etc. It's not a "cheap" solution, but the band members all owned iPads already, so we put them to good use. I play probably ~30% of my songs purely from memory, and for the other ~70%, I have about 1,000 song sheets that I've put into the iPads. I edited many of them, to make the lyrics and chords larger for our "older" eyes :-) All band members have the same song set (PDF files) on their iPads.

So, for this use, the iPad saves time, doesn't get in the way, and still lets us be musicians ...

-Jim