Does anybody here perform live and play techno music? That is a pretty open ended question so I should get into a little more detail.

I suppose the answer to what I am about to ask is "Any DAW at all should do that", but I want to be able to be able to set up a system where I can play virtual instruments from a controller connected to one computer (which from here on I will call "the parts") and have a second computer playing sequenced parts (which from here on I will call "the song"). I want to route the song from MIDI out on the interface of the computer playing the song to input 1 on a MIDI through box and the MIDI out on the interface of the computer playing the parts to input 2 on the thru box.

This would allow me to send MIDI clock to a sequencer and drum machines by making the routing from input 1 (the song computer) pass to only to the outs I map on the thru box and play the parts computer manually, switching virtual instruments as needed in a DAW, all of course set up for the correct channels.

Confused yet? I am and it's my brain that this is rattling around in. I need 2 computers to do this because I would have sounds (use 10 sounds) assigned to 10 tracks on different MIDI channels ad just switch channel on the controller.

Now, to toss a little more mud into the pit, (and even though I would have no reason to do this because I could always add tracks - it's a "but is it POSSIBLE" kind of thing) if the MIDI out of the song computer was plugged into the MIDI in of the parts computer, could computer 1 control the DAW on computer 2?

I don't know of any of that makes sense, or why I'd want to do it, but I want to know if it CAN be done. It may be as simple at the core as being able to trigger a DAW from another DAW, like a virtual transport (start/stop) function. And even deeper, if I want to have a second drum machine kick on and off during a song, can I embed a MIDI instruction that says start this drum machine at (for example) bar 17 and 16 bars later turn it off. This where my lack of deep knowledge of MIDI comes into play. From a computer nerd side, everything MUST be possible. It's software and it does what it's told to do. The real pros know how to tell software what to do.

You should have seen me trying to program my Alesis keytar to where the ribbon controller would operate the rotary speaker on the Nord. I first had to find the right MIDI controller number (it's 82) and then assign that controller number to the ribbon. I eventually made it work but it was like 3 days of digging around to find out first WHAT to do and then HOW to do it. It works now where I slide my finger across the ribbon which is otherwise pitch bending and the further I slide the faster the Leslie effect spins.

MIDI is an adventure!!!