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Envision having a free evening. You are energized, open to experience, and wanting to break from your regular habits of relaxing at home. Life itself offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) seeing live music or b) engaging in intimacy? The outcome, as frequently the case with these types of queries, is obviously: “That depends.” Mature individuals could understandably inquire: what's the gig? Who's the other person? Will it be expected to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would select a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the other option was a magical night with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak any part of the comparison, and it grows less clearcut. Regarding the thousands surveyed asked this question through a gig organization, no further clarification was given – and the result was revealed decisively and overwhelmingly preferring live music events.

Study Data Show Surprising Trends

An international report, questioning thousands of participants from 18 and 54 across multiple countries, showed that live music currently stand as the world’s top pastime, surpassing games, cinema and – absolutely – sexual intercourse. Given the choice to a single form of entertainment for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents picked concerts, against film attendance (17%) and games (14%). Participants were more than twice as inclined to choose watching their top musician in concert (70%) over sex (30%).

You arrive hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and quite often you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Of course it's expected that a PR survey conducted for a concert promoter would result so overwhelmingly supporting concerts – and, with the speculative spirit of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, say a legendary singer, one can appreciate why watching him may be chosen rather than a routine situation. However this either-or decision between gigs or intimacy, obviously silly though it may be, is fascinating to reflect on amid the peculiar moment we’re at with both.

The Change of Gig Attendance

In recent years, concert attendance has become not just a communal experience but a intense competition. Live organizations duly point out that arena crowds has “increased threefold year-over-year”, and music festivals are fully reserved faster than ever. Just obtaining passes now demands detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Although you manage, it isn't sufficient to merely attend and experience the event. There’s now an expectation, at least among concertgoers, that you can boost your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), learning the set list in advance and knowing your marks to perform and fan traditions created by earlier audiences.

Numerous attendees report feeling scarred by their participation at major tours: what seemed like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, to which some individuals arrived not knowing the protocol. Those lengthy event, producing huge revenue, showed of the degree to which fans will travel to feel part of a cultural moment and experience their top musician sing, even if the live sound appears more and more secondary to the production.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, by contrast – a relatively cheap and available enjoyment – experiences challenging circumstances. Per contemporary studies, nearly one in four of individuals were intimate in an average week, while nearly 30% were abstaining. Elsewhere, recent data indicated that a significant portion of people admitted to avoiding intimacy at all in the last twelve months, up from smaller percentages in previous decades. In both territories, the shift has been associated with reduced intimacy in youth demographics. Compare this with the industry booming for large concerts and the fierce battle for tickets. Of course it isn't straightforward as a straightforward choice between either option – “could you choose attend a huge concert multiple times, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an signal of how people see the more reliable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are more comparable than you might think. Both represent the commencement of a relationship, a practical trial of impressions or potential that could have built just in your mind. You arrive with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing depends very much on whether your energy and anticipations match theirs. Regularly you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be waiting around for a smoke and a moment alone on your own. Likewise with either, substances and drinks can either enhance or reduce the event (but definitely make the most dire occasions simpler to handle).

Achieving Equilibrium

The magic to concerts and intimacy relies on locating that perfect combination between the known and the new, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it’s the memory of when it worked, the understanding that it can happen, that inspires us to give it another shot: to {