I think about this a lot. I too have been traveling a bit on the Golf Coast and through out CA. I went to several venues featuring live music that featured solo acts, and mostly always they have singer/guitar performing without tracks.

I think people have become a bit jaded by the use of technology in music, and when they go out to hear live music, they don't want to hear anything that can be perceived as karaoke. Anyone can do karaoke at home now. I would think your average person who see's a guy playing an arranger keyboard probably just assumes that the keyboardist is playing to pre recorded music, which is commonly thought of as karaoke. If someone aspires to be a professional karaoke singer, they better be exceptionally good, because anyone can sing to tracks at home or at all the clubs that have karaoke nights. Same goes for arranger players, if they are out playing out in public for pay, they have to be very good singers and good players too. They have to be able to entertain. It's a bit harder to have much flash/flair/showmanship playing arranger keyboards. Guitar players can move around, a karaoke singer with a wireless mic can go up to any table in the club. An arranger player has to keep the left hand pretty much still to play chords (that not that entertaining to watch, is it?) An arranger KB player can't move around even like a traditional pianist can because the left hand is a slave to the auto accompaniment.

In general, I think the public wants to see people really playing and an arranger keyboard is perceived as just too cheesy/fake no matter how hip the styles and sounds are.

Just my two cents