Well some people do, but very few - usually they're in country music for some reason. I toured with Randy Travis a couple of years ago. Country acts have a whole different way of doing it, you know, most are based in Nashville which is more or less the center of the country. So, instead of going out on tour and criss-crossing the country, they'll go out for four days at a time and go back to Nashville because they can do that. They own their own buses, trucks, and gear.
Nobody really owns their own gear except instruments and amplifiers.
You've been to many venues - big and small. You know, the best places are usually outdoor amphitheaters. Outdoors you don't have to deal with the physics of sound bouncing off walls and creating echoes. There's usually a better sounding show outdoors. Some of the newer arenas are better than the older ones because now there is better knowledge of acoustics and controlling construction techniques.