Hey, thanks, jetbunny.
I shoot primarily with a Canon EOS 20D. I've got a number of lenses, shoot with a combination of lenses from a 75-300mm image stabilized L-series lens to a cheap lil' Canon 50mm f1.8 lens. Quite honestly, my fave lens is the Canon 50mm f1.8 lens. Cheap (readily available well under $100), quick, great in low light, and the sharpest lens you'll shoot that's not an L-series (pro) lens. It's kind of the equivalent of a Electromatic with a TruArc and TV Jones pups in it. Yeah, it might not be as flashy or have quite the cachet of it's "big brothers", but it does one hell of a job at one hell of a price.
I have a few quirks about the way I shoot: I almost never use autofocus, even when (or rather, especially when) shooting action. I like a very narrow depth of field (hence why I love that f1.8 lens) so will often bracket shots while adjusting focus, so I grab one that has the area in focus I'm looking for. It can be a bit frustrating at times, especially when you first get used to manually focusing, but when you get the hang of it you can snap some pretty great pics. I also try to avoid using flash if at all possible. Yeah, sometimes you have to use a fill flash, but if I can avoid it I do. I photograph a lot of live bands, especially at night, and they tend to be very appreciative of the fact that I'm not constantly blinding them with flashbulbs in their eyes as they try to play. It's led to some great access to some pretty big groups and singers because they'll let me stay around while a lot of the other shooters get the boot after a few songs.
On that subject, lighting is your friend. Take a look at the stage before you take any shots, and try to see where the hot spots in the lighting are. If you can, plan in your mind where you want to get the shots you're looking for, and dial in a rough approximation of focus for that area, and wait for your subject to step into the light. Snap some photos as they move through the hot spot, sometimes you get some great pictures as the light plays across their features.
I wish I could tell you that I have a "standard setup" that I use whenever I shoot, but I don't. I'm constantly playing around with aperture value, "film" speed, and shutter speed, until I get the right effect, focus, and light I'm looking for at that particular time, with that particular subject, and with the lighting available at that time.
Hope I answered your question, jetbunny! Sorry for the novel in response...
