On the road ah-ha moment #2:

Mic stands are sometimes overkill and quite indiscrete.

That is, if you're just going to sing a song or two and then get out
(as in, it's not a proper concert where you get permission and set up
time and everything). That's what we're doing today at the Baptistry
in Pisa (insane acoustics, Google it).

The way our tour guide put it was, "anything that looks professional
requires special permission", so I get to try and sound professional
while looking supremely ghettotastic. Sometimes the barriers are
interpersonal and not technical.

To that end, I will be holding (or having someone hold) the two mics
on their stereo crossbar as high as I possibly can. I've left a few
feet of cable outside the bag but coiled and tied up the rest. Also
untaped the USB/Firewire cables and ties them together instead. The
idea is that I can stand with audio interface, hard drive, and
outboard battery in the backpack, laptop in one hand, and holding up
the mics with the other. This is a worst case scenario and my hope is
that I'll get to set everything but the mics down. We'll see.

And yes, I know I will look like I'm an alien trying to contact the
mother ship, or at least a UFO enthusiast. We all must suffer for our
art.