"what are you getting from the live experience as opposed to sitting at home"?

Hopefully not a history lesson. I CAN get that from my sleeve notes at home. Personally I pay for as many tunes as can be fitted in to the gig. If a verbal presentation is done with wit no-one can argue but it's so often a dry exposition of fact, in other words record notes without the ability to turn over.
If there's a danger of someone banging on without wit and guile - especially if it's flavoured with narcissism - I tend to go to the bar with as loud a stage sigh as I can muster.