Originally Posted by: bbzswa777Ah, got it. I was thinking it might be something like that, but what confuses me is wouldn't the audience still be able to hear the sound coming out of the cabs? Or does the PA simply overpower the cabs?

in small venues this might be the case sometimes. in such cases it's really important that the band has a good sound on stage. not to loud, so the PA guy can still manage to mix without to much 'noise' coming form the stage.
next time you're in the concert go and stand right in front of a PA guy and mixer console and hear how it sounds and than go right in front of the stage. Usually you will hear the best sound of a band just in front a mixer console.