Only if you don't want hum, buzz and signal loss!
Actually, if the dude's rig can run signal cables less than 15 feet or so to your rig, you MIGHT be able to "squeak by" with the typical unbalanced cables, but I wouldn't bet on that. There are plenty of DI boxes on the market you can get. Try to stay away from the real cheap ones by ART and Rolls. Countryman, Radial, Whirlwind, and ProCo all make decent models. You might be able to find a live sound company that will rent you some.

i understand where moonman's coming from but it really has alot to do with your front end... what are you using??? are there set-up issuses with the room and power etc??? granted if you get some direct boxes it can minimize that sort of thing and you'll always have them so if dough aint an issue might be a good time to bite the bullet...

Ya i was planning on setting it up so power cords and audio cords were as far away from eachother as possible. What were you asking when you asked what i was using? What did you mean?

Tuck

by front end i meant mixers/ interfaces/micpres that sort of thing...