Even if it isn't, I have to wonder about the cognitive load of a constantly changing control strip.

I'd say the closest analog would be the Mac menu bar, and even that works because it is largely consistent across apps.

So far the only benefit I can see is that it's a touchscreen in an ergonomically better position (although, is even this true? How much better is this than touching a bar at the bottom of the main display itself?)

Watching the DJ do stuff on that narrow strip was painful. About the only decent demo was the photoshop one, but why wouldn't photoshop not simply include similar touch controls on the screen for windows devices, which have complete touch screens