I'm in the being heard and seen camp. the drummer is a show in it's self. The Kit I use the most to gig with is a Slingerland Gloss yellow color, fairly hard to miss it.

Primarily a "heard" drummer in terms of serving the song and playing with dynamics. But I also believe that a performance should include a visual aspect, so I play a well-maintained kit that looks as good as it sounds and use more drums and cymbals than I need (although they all get played).

Al