I also think there's a difference between regular bands and solo acts. If I'm "just" a guitar player, it's reasonable to know all the chords to all the songs in a 3 hour gig. Likewise, someone who is "just" the singer may be able to memorize all the lyrics.

Solo acts, especially if they use BIAB to create backing tracks, aren't limited by the knowledge of other band members, so they are more likely to accumulate a large library of songs... Like Forum members Notes Norton, Danny Campo and 90db... I'd bet they all have a very large pool of songs.

Once you get past a set list of 40 songs, and you are singing all the lyrics, playing all the chords and slamming all the solos... the likelihood of forgetting something begins to escalate exponentially.

That's why I like using a notebook pc to present the songs... it gives the performer visual cues for lyrics and chords as well as offering a playback device and full MIDI control.

I find that for me, even with all that help, its still a challenge to manage all of the special timings, intros, endings etc, and its hard to make notes about stuff like that on a chord sheet.

Multiply that times Notes Norton's 550 songs... all of which need to be played well even if he hasn't played that song in 2 years... and the idea that he is somehow "cheating" begins to look ridiculous.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0