🔗 Share this article

Envision having a night off. You are rejuvenated, eager for new things, and hoping to shake up your typical schedule of relaxing at home. Life itself offers possibilities! Would you prefer a) seeing live music or b) engaging in intimacy? The response, as is often seen with such kinds of hypotheticals, is obviously: “It depends.” Thinking adults might logically inquire: what's the gig? With whom is the partner? Is it likely to be good?

Not many would choose a heavy metal lineup if the alternative was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. Yet change one side of the equation, and it turns less clearcut. In the case of the participants presented with this choice through a gig organization, no further clarification was offered – and the response emerged unambiguously and heavily preferring live music events.

Research Findings Indicate Interesting Preferences

A worldwide study, polling thousands of participants aged between 18 and 54 from multiple countries, showed that gigs have become the number one form of entertainment, beating out athletic events, cinema and – yes – intimacy. When limited to one type of activity forever, nearly four in ten picked live music, against film attendance (17%) and games (14%). They were also significantly more as prone to choose seeing their favourite artist in concert (70%) rather than sex (30%).

You show up expecting to be delightfully amazed – and quite often you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it's expected that a marketing research conducted for a concert promoter would result so overwhelmingly in favour of gigs – and, in the freewheeling spirit of a would-you-rather, if your top performer is, such as an iconic star, one can appreciate why watching him might win out over a ordinary encounter. But this either-or decision between concerts or sex, plainly ridiculous as it is, is interesting to think about amid the peculiar juncture we experience with each.

The Evolution of Gig Attendance

Lately, concert attendance has evolved into more than a shared activity but a serious endeavor. Live organizations appropriately highlight that stadium attendance has “grown significantly each year”, and festivals get booked up faster than ever. Simply getting tickets now requires detailed strategy, instant reactions and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, that alone won't do to simply turn up and experience the event. There’s now an anticipation, at least among music enthusiasts, that you might enhance your return on investment by attending more than once (even travelling internationally), swotting up on the song selection beforehand and memorizing the cues to follow and calls-and-responses developed through previous crowds.

Many concertgoers report feeling scarred by their participation at major tours: what seemed like a choreographed performance of massive crowds, where particular fans came unaware of the protocol. The extended tour, generating billions, demonstrated of the extents that people will go to participate in a cultural moment and experience their top musician sing, even if the actual music grows somewhat less important than the spectacle.

The Condition of Current Relationships

Sex, conversely – an affordable and accessible pleasure – is in dire straits. According to recent surveys, about a quarter of adults were intimate in an average week, while nearly 30% were not engaging. In another major country, recent data indicated that over a quarter of adults said they had not sex even once in the previous year, rising from fewer people in earlier years. Across these regions, the change has been attributed to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Juxtapose this with the sector driving growth for major events and the fierce battle for admissions. Of course it’s not as simple as a basic option between both alternatives – “do you prefer see a major tour often, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an indication of what is viewed as the more consistent satisfaction.

Unexpected Similarities

Sex and live music are closer aligned than one may assume. Both represent the initiation of a bond, a practical trial of ideas or promise that could have built solely in your imagination. You arrive with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but hopeful of being happily shocked – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating depends very much on whether your energy and hopes align with others. Quite often you’ll end up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a break and a moment alone by yourself. Similarly for each, substances and drinks can either enhance or reduce the situation (but certainly help the worst occasions more bearable).

Seeking Harmony

The magic to concerts and intimacy hinges on discovering that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of when they did, the understanding that it’s possible, that motivates us to try again: to {