If they are loosing money over their light show than they are fucking idiots.

I can only remember two times that the pretty lights made a significant difference in my enjoyment of a show. No one gives a shit about the lights if you are putting on a good show.

I've seen bands that were just two members at the beginning of their career and full bands when they hit it big. The two man show with programmable drum machine was as good if not better in some cases.

If two of them can't put on a good show alone than the full band isn't going to push that shit over the edge. I saw Ween a few times in my life, best performance was when it was just the two of them, worst was with a full band and a packed theater which I walked out of four or so songs in.

Prince gets what ever he wants but lots of singer songwriter people need bands to tour. Think Feist or Amy Mann (good examples where this kind of work comes from). Dandy Warhols was a band that a friend of mine toured with. He got to go to Europe and play a few big festivals and meet lots of famous musicians. The Dandies had more than a few keyboard and trumpet parts on their albums and they decently wanted to give the fans a full experience. They hired two piano players who could play horns and hit the road.