chas ... is that you - PRAYING ?!?

Back to the OP ... I agree that the 'quality' of performance of several of OMBs shown in the above posts is not great, and I believe I at least implied that when I stated that the OMB competition in RI is a lot stronger than that.
However, I find it very interesting that some people feel that if someone is not performing the way "I" perform, they are doing it wrong ... As far as reading charts being 'unprofessional', "professional" performers do that today and have been doing that forever, whether they use cue cards, monitors, music sheets, tablets or iPads ...
And why does a performance have to be 'impromptu'? ... Do "professional" performers go on stage without knowing what they are going to do? ... most of us know our audiences and the people who hire us know us and the type of music we perform (which is why they hire us in the first place), so what is wrong with having a 'playlist'? ... when I prepare for a performance, I will have my primary playlist for that gig, and an 'alternative' list as well, just in case I need something else - very seldom do I have to go to the 'alternative list' ... and, yes, often I have to respond to a request called out by someone in the audience which is usually not a problem ...
I agree that 'medleys' are a good thing, and I often prepare them based on a certain songwriter, performer, time of year(season), holiday, whatever ... But I also see nothing wrong with playing one song at a time ...

So I guess what I am driving at is that there is no ONE WAY to perform - do what works best for YOU and please your audience! ...