Looping, on stage, a 2 minute song part by part?

[Alex Weinstein <alex@alexweinstein.com>]

I am a classical musician... trying desperately to bring looping into my 
recitals.
I have a performance in a few weeks, where I would love to be able to 
perform a piece for 5 guitars, one part at a time.

The piece is about 2 minutes long... and with all the parts in place I 
would be looping at least 8 minutes worth of music, possibly 10.

Any advice? Hardware vs. Software?

I've been looking into Ableton's LIVE, which might be a good way for me 
to go, but I need hands free control over the loop starts and stops.

anything for <$500?

any help asap would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

-alex-