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Envision having a night off. You feel refreshed, eager for new things, and looking to change your usual routine of evening scrolling. Your options is your oyster! Do you opt for a) seeing live music or b) being with a partner? The outcome, as is often seen with such kinds of queries, is plainly: “That depends.” Reasonable people could understandably inquire: what's the gig? Who's the other person? Is it expected to be satisfying?

Hardly anyone would select a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the choice was one enchanted evening with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak one side of the scenario, and it turns more complicated. Regarding the thousands surveyed asked this question from a gig organization, no such details was provided – and the answer came out clearly and heavily supporting gigs.

Survey Results Show Unexpected Choices

A worldwide study, interviewing a large sample from 18 and 54 from different nations, found that gigs currently stand as the number one pastime, beating out games, cinema and – indeed – sexual intercourse. When limited to one type of activity for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents chose live music, versus going to the cinema (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also over two times as inclined to prefer watching their top musician live (70%) instead of sex (30%).

You show up hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and quite often you might find with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it's expected that a PR survey conducted for a live event company would result so strongly in favour of gigs – and, with the speculative mood of a would-you-rather, if your favourite artist is, for example Paul McCartney, one can appreciate why attending his concert might win out rather than a routine situation. Yet this binary choice between gigs or sexual activity, obviously silly though it may be, is interesting to consider considering the strange point we’re at with each.

The Change of Concert Culture

In recent years, gig-going has become not just a shared activity but a serious endeavor. Live organizations rightly note that stadium attendance has “grown significantly year-over-year”, and music festivals sell out faster than ever. Merely acquiring passes now requires detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and deep finances (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, it isn't sufficient to simply turn up and experience the event. Currently there is an anticipation, at least among pop fans, that you could increase your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), swotting up on the song selection in advance and knowing your marks to perform and audience interactions created by previous crowds.

Several fans describe being shaken by their attendance at popular events: what felt like a scripted production of huge audiences, where particular fans came unfamiliar with the steps. That 18-month tour, earning massive sums, showed of the degree to which fans will travel to participate in a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer sing, even if the actual music seems increasingly less important than the production.

The Condition of Modern Intimacy

Sex, by contrast – a relatively cheap and common experience – is in dire straits. According to contemporary studies, nearly one in four of adults had sex in an average week, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In another major country, recent data indicated that a significant portion of individuals reported not having intimacy even once in the last twelve months, rising from lower numbers in earlier years. In both territories, the trend has been linked to reduced intimacy with younger generations. Compare this with the market expanding rapidly for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for admissions. Certainly it isn't straightforward as a straightforward choice between both alternatives – “do you prefer attend a huge concert multiple times, or avoid intimacy?” – but it might be an signal of how people see the more reliable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Intimacy and concerts are more similar than people often believe. Each symbolizes the commencement of a bond, a practical trial of expectations or possibility that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating rests largely on whether your energy and hopes match theirs. Frequently you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and afterwards be lingering for a smoke and personal space on your own. Similarly for each, stimulants and beverages can sometimes improve or reduce the situation (but certainly help the most dire situations simpler to handle).

Achieving Equilibrium

The wonder to both gigs and sex hinges on locating that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Certainly it's uncommon – but it's the recollection of successful moments, the knowledge that it’s possible, that drives us to try again: to {