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Picture being gifted with a free evening. You are refreshed, open to experience, and wanting to change your usual routine of post-work slumping. The world offers possibilities! Could you prefer a) attending a concert or b) being with a partner? The answer, as frequently true with these sorts of hypotheticals, is clearly: “It varies.” Reasonable people might logically inquire: what kind of the show? Who is the partner? Could it be likely to be satisfying?

Not many would choose a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the alternative was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. Yet change either end of the scenario, and it becomes less clearcut. In the case of the 40,000 people posed this query by a major concert promoter, no further details was given – and the result was revealed clearly and overwhelmingly in favour of gigs.

Study Data Show Interesting Trends

An international report, interviewing 40,000 people aged between 18 and 54 across 15 markets, showed that live music have become the number one form of entertainment, surpassing games, cinema and – indeed – intimacy. Given the choice to only one option of entertainment for the rest of their lives, a significant portion picked gigs, against going to the cinema (17%) and games (14%). Participants were significantly more as inclined to choose attending their preferred performer live (70%) over sexual activity (30%).

You show up expecting to be delightfully amazed – and quite often you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it’s not surprising that a marketing research conducted for a concert promoter might conclude so strongly preferring gigs – and, in the freewheeling mood of a would-you-rather, if your preferred musician is, for example Paul McCartney, one can appreciate why seeing him may be chosen over a routine situation. Yet this two-option scenario between live music or sexual activity, plainly ridiculous though it may be, is interesting to think about amid the peculiar juncture we experience with both.

The Evolution of Live Music Experience

Lately, gig-going has grown beyond a communal experience but a competitive sport. Live organizations rightly note that large venue turnout has “tripled year-over-year”, and music festivals are fully reserved quicker than before. Just obtaining admissions now needs detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and significant funds (or a substantial budget). Though you succeed, it isn't sufficient to simply turn up and experience the event. Currently there is an anticipation, particularly with concertgoers, that you could increase your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (even travelling internationally), studying the set list beforehand and knowing your marks to hit and calls-and-responses established by previous crowds.

Numerous concertgoers describe being scarred by their attendance at popular events: what felt like a choreographed performance of huge audiences, where certain attendees arrived unaware of the steps. That 18-month concert series, generating billions, was proof of the extents that people will go to experience a historic occasion and watch their preferred performer sing, although the live sound grows somewhat overshadowed by the spectacle.

The State of Current Relationships

Sex, on the other hand – an accessible and available enjoyment – faces dire straits. Based on recent surveys, about a quarter of individuals engaged sexually in an typical week, while nearly 30% were not engaging. Elsewhere, current statistics indicated that over a quarter of individuals said they had not intimacy at all in the last twelve months, rising from fewer people in previous decades. In both territories, the change has been associated with less sexual activity in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the industry driving growth for major events and the cutthroat competition for passes. Of course it’s not as simple as a simple decision between both alternatives – “do you prefer attend a huge concert often, or avoid intimacy?” – but it might be an signal of how people see the more reliable pleasure.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are more similar than you might think. Both represent the activation of a connection, a real-world test of expectations or possibility that could have built solely in your imagination. You come with some idea of what might happen, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves good or bad depends very much on how your vibe and hopes match theirs. Regularly you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a cigarette and some quiet time on your own. Similarly for each, drugs and alcohol can either enhance or detract from the event (but certainly help the most unpleasant occasions more bearable).

Achieving Equilibrium

The magic to concerts and intimacy depends on finding that hard-to-find balance between familiarity and novelty, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Naturally it's uncommon – but it's the recollection of when it worked, the understanding that it can happen, that drives us to attempt once more: to {