that is the crux of the biscuit.
I have always preferred live instrumentation over pure software solutions, but naturally there's a tradeoff since many of us are using technology that is no more than 10 years old. Bjork was a very inspiring concert to me in this regard as she uses some extremely novel (but extremely expensive) technology to allow musicianship to shine through.
For example, if these ever become cheaper, I would love to use one
but in general, if you can find a software setup that involves triggering synced loops or samples, having some kind of visual feedback for the audience makes a HUGE difference. FL has come packed with visualizer software which can be linked to performance data off a MIDI track, but it uses lots of RAM and just using the lights on your pads so the audience can see them can do a world of difference.
because the previous post has so much great information on the technical issues, I just want to assert that no matter how tight your tech is, it doesn't matter a single tick if you're not comfortable with the idea of sharing your sensations, emotions, and thoughts with a group of people in a sympathetic way. giving them something interesting to look at for the 30-odd minutes you're playing noises can be a meticulously synced projection or just a very clever t-shirt.