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Imagine being gifted with a open night. You feel refreshed, open to experience, and hoping to break from your regular habits of post-work slumping. Your options offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The outcome, as frequently the case with these types of queries, is obviously: “It depends.” Reasonable people could understandably wonder: what's the gig? With whom is the other person? Is it going to be good?

Few would choose a intense rock concert if the choice was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. However tweak any part of the scenario, and it grows less clearcut. For the 40,000 people asked this question from a major concert promoter, no additional context was provided – and the answer was revealed unambiguously and heavily in favour of live music events.

Survey Results Reveal Unexpected Choices

An international survey, questioning a large sample ranging from 18 and 54 from multiple countries, found that concerts are now the number one pastime, beating out athletic events, films and – indeed – sexual intercourse. When limited to one type of activity permanently, a significant portion chose live music, versus going to the cinema (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also over two times as prone to select watching their top musician live (70%) instead of sex (30%).

You show up anticipating delightfully amazed – and regularly you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Naturally it makes sense that a promotional study carried out for a gig organizer might conclude so strongly preferring gigs – and, amid the playful spirit of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, say Paul McCartney, it's understandable why seeing him may be chosen instead of a ordinary situation. But this two-option scenario between live music or sexual activity, obviously silly even if it seems, is interesting to reflect on considering the strange moment we experience with both.

The Transformation of Gig Attendance

Over the past few years, concert attendance has become not just a group event but a serious endeavor. Event companies appropriately highlight that arena crowds has “tripled annually”, and festivals get booked up more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining admissions now needs military-level planning, instant reactions and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Though you manage, it’s not enough to just show up and enjoy the show. Nowadays exists an assumption, especially for pop fans, that you could increase your experience quality by attending more than once (including overseas trips), swotting up on the performance lineup ahead of time and memorizing the cues to perform and audience interactions developed through previous crowds.

Numerous fans describe being scarred by their participation at popular events: appearing as a scripted production of thousands of people, where certain attendees arrived unaware of the protocol. Those lengthy event, generating billions, was proof of the degree to which fans will travel to experience a significant event and see their favourite artist play, even if the real performance seems increasingly overshadowed by the spectacle.

The Situation of Current Relationships

Intimacy, conversely – an affordable and available enjoyment – faces challenging circumstances. According to recent surveys, approximately 25% of people engaged sexually in an average week, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In a different nation, modern figures indicated that a significant portion of adults admitted to avoiding intimacy at all in the past year, rising from fewer people in the past. In both territories, the trend has been attributed to reduced intimacy among younger people. Juxtapose this with the industry booming for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for tickets. Certainly it’s not as simple as a basic option between one or the other – “could you choose attend a huge concert multiple times, or avoid intimacy?” – but it's possibly an indication of which is perceived as the more dependable satisfaction.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are closer aligned than one may assume. Each symbolizes the commencement of a connection, a real-world test of impressions or potential that could have built only in your head. You show up with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating depends very much on how your vibe and hopes match theirs. Quite often you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be waiting around for a smoke and personal space alone. And, in both cases, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or reduce the experience (but definitely make the most unpleasant situations simpler to handle).

Achieving Equilibrium

The magic to live events and relationships relies on locating that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, similarity and difference, work and relaxation. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it’s the memory of successful moments, the understanding that it’s possible, that drives us to give it another shot: to {