Assuming for the moment that you are talking about the 6 curves and 3 equalizers in the L*a*b Adjustments section: Yes, you most probably can. But…
I think that the sane approach is to not exclude any of the tools as a starting point. Each image (or image series) needs its own approach and has its own unique challenges.
The image in the 3 Ways to Lighten… video is a nice example: This specific image does not benefit all that much from using the exposure compensation slider, as is explained by Andy. So you need another way of approaching this and Andy shows 2. You could also use the Local Adjustments tab + tool(s) and target specific areas (just an example, this would not be the easiest approach in this case 
).