I am not taking anything away from Dave, but it looked like he might have had an iPAD or tablet in front of him ? ... not that he looked at it very often ...

Very entertaining Dave, ... relaxed, easy going, no stress or strain ... well done ...

Even though we might have charts or a tablet in front of us, that does not mean we can't spontaneously 'take off' on a medley of songs that we know by heart ... and I personally don't think using charts - paper or tablet - diminishes our ability to satisfy our audiences ...
Plus, performing without charts is easier when one is using backing tracks or midi files, and not just the KB styles ...
just sayin'

What a pleasant performance. I could listen all evening. I never really thought about using a pre sequenced solo independently while performing live. Excellent idea. That's why I love this forum. I always learn something.

Is that a FerroFish B 4000 + module to the left of you? How cool is that if it is.

Sir Thomas Beecham, a renowned conductor once said at a rehearsal of the London Philharmonic, "Play the phrases. Never mind the bars, they're just boxes that contain the phrases."

Nope. It's an iRig DJ mixer. Handy as hell - 2 stereo channels with EQ, and an independent HP out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcJfBmSmIQY
I plug an iPad into channel 2, and that allows me to mix the backing tracks, or break music back INTO the kb speakers with instant volume and EQ, and right at my fingertips. The PA900, itself is plugged into channel 1, but the main slider is OFF. I use the HP out to feed the house mix, or my system, depending on the venue. (Gain, and EQ are still active)
This allows me to have a 2 zone mixer within reach of my left hand. You might notice, I tweak it a lot. I'm kind of "conducting" the backing arrangement.

*** IMPORTANT - if you try this, be sure you have your MAIN VOLUME off in the KB channel, otherwise it'll get fed back into the internal sound system, and cause a never ending paradox-like feedback loop.

It's no different than when we used to play in a band, right? All we had control over was our kb parts, and the rest was done by the band. Well, today, it's a cyber band. During any given performance I'll utilize manual bass, auto accompaniment, sequences, drum tracks, MP3/Karaoke tracks, or straight piano (usually Rhodes). The pulse of the room determines the "fullness" of the band. Very often, if I'm using the arranger, I'll mute everything but bass and drums, so I have a clean, intimate trio sound. I like that. Then, as the tune progresses, I might add in the 5 acc parts. (I have a dedicated button that tuns them all on/off)
Very effective. In intimate settings, with small crowds, I find the arranger to be at it's "hokeyest" (is that a word?) when there's 7 parts playing behind my already full chord arrangement. Thinning out the arranger is ver appropriate in these cases.

I sure do have an iPad on the stand. It's my fakebook, my break-time jukebox, my backing tracks, my karaoke machine for guests, and most of all - my TIMEPIECE! I love having the time always in front of me - keeps me grounded. I use every tool available to me. Sometimes I read, most times, not, but I want the option in case I get an oddball request that I "sorta" know, but never played. Comes in handy!

Tony, though I hate to disagree, I will on this one. Most of the full time entertainers I've come across over the years only used their laptops and pads for references, and in my case, lyrics. For some strange reason, I was unable to remember all the words to more than 3000 songs I have been performing over the years - but for the most part, about 600 to 800 seem to stay in the cobwebs of my aging brain. As for the chords, they are there as well, and yes, I occasionally get one or two wrong, but that's pretty rare as well.

I primarily use onboard or USB loaded third-party style files, and maybe onece a night, use a midi file during a 4-hour job. All the other performers I know personally do the same. And, if I use that single midi file, I usually play over it using my right hand instruments.

The people that gave me the idea of using a laptop were UD and DNJ, whom I drove to watch in action on several occasions. They are both Pro entertainers in every aspect, and because they performed nearly every day of the week, they rarely even glanced at the laptop to do most of their songs. I guess when you perform a song regularly, some of that information is retained in the gray matter and can be instantly recalled.

One of the greatest features I discovered over the years with my arranger keyboards was the ability to recall the song settings using either registrations or my music finder director (MFD). Though it made it so I didn't have to think about what style to select, it made the transition between songs go from about 30 seconds to a minute, down to under a second, if I wanted to go that fast. In doing so, especially using the MFD, I really didn't have time to go into the laptop and look for the lyrics, though I could have in a few more seconds. I just wanted to keep the crowd on the dance floor and in that vein, I was very successful - just like DNJ and UD. I guess I stole a page out of their playbook, and was damned glad I did. Thanks guys for all the help you provided me over these many years.

All the best,

Gary

Gary ... I did not mean for anything I said to take away from Dave's performance ... I have been an admirer of his talents since I first heard his work on this board ...

I am having a hard time trying to figure out on what issue you are disagreeing with me. Is it that I said some of us can use a tablet or charts and still fully entertain our audiences? ... or that we could spontaneously 'take off' and do a medley of songs from memory? ...

Donny said Dave didn't need charts, and he probably doesn't, but I just commented that it looked like Dave had a tablet of some kind in front of him ... I also said it looked like he DID NOT look at it very often ...
I would have to think that Dave was using a backing file of some kind for "Spooky", otherwise where did the sax solo come from? ... he may have been using the Chord Sequencer for the end of the song when he was taking a right hand solo, but I have no idea about that...

And maybe I was born in Missouri, and I'm not saying it CAN'T be done, but for someone to be able play any of 600 - 800 songs from memory and have all the lyrics correct, and only miss one or two chord changes, WOW, that would be as impressive as hell ...

Well, I just read Dave's responses and I think that clears up an issue or two ...