Ideally the less automated the performance the better, for me as an audience member anyway. Maybe the vast majority of the general public doesn’t really care either way? Of course, the venue and the artist/genre has a lot to do with it too. I would like to think that most people would be disappointed if they paid top dollar to see an artist like Michael Bublé perform and he sang with no band and just backing tracks Of course there’s a completely different expectation at the local level like at a bar, restaurant or party, assuming the music is not the primary focus.