Hey Marc -
I, for one, raise my hand high and say YES. And as Chad nicely explained, neither 3Ø nor water should really be a problem in any venue 'worth' doing a gig in (one where you're likely to get paid, and get paid what you're worth) - yeah, it's a hassle lugging hoses and cable, but somehow, $10K at the end of a well-done show softens the 'pain' a little...
Any commercial building that has a large air-conditioner, should have 3Ø, AND water SOMEwhere, it is usually just a matter of how FAR AWAY / accessible it is (ie, if water is ONLY avail via 1/2" bathroom / sink lines, well, CAN work, but will be a challenge; and even if the 3Ø is ONLY avail off some giant transformer with NO disconnects or breakers (like sometimes you see around here, in el Sal) it's gonna be tricky, but not impossible...)
And, at least for mid-power WLs (ie Coh I-90) don't NEED to be run off 3Ø, they can easily be run off a modded-Am909 'switching' supply, just at higher amps...
Besides, show me a DPSS WL that can do THIS (below...I don't mean HAVING a machita, I mean the inherent-spectrals; and yes, this tube was very red-heavy..) - WL Ions still, to-date, give the most 'beam for the buck', especially in the higher powers - I will put up a $20K 171 WL up against a $100K+ 15W DPSS WL, ANYDAY - better beam quality, better inherent color-availability, and a HELL of a lot easier to get a back-up for, or especially AT, a gig!!!!
Don't NEED a backup with a DPSS, you say?? Hmm, well, I for one won't be betting MY $30K-in-one-nite Show on only ONE laser any time soon... what do you do IF, your DPSS WL takes an on-site shyte on you? - THEN ask for 3Ø and water??? Bzzt! Of course, SOME (like Arctos) approach things smartly with a multiply-redundant design, but they are also multiply-f*kn-expensive... especially since the only smart thing to do is buy 2...or 3.... (OUCH!)
And hey, Chad yep, have done the old 'CPR' (cathode pressure-resucitation) but that, like your story demoed, should only be done in a true emergency - better to simply run the sys without starting it, allowing the cath to glow for 24+hrs, FIRST, before you resort to 'CPR'...
OK, I'll shut-up now!
- J