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Envision finding yourself with a free evening. You're feeling refreshed, ready for adventure, and looking to change your usual routine of relaxing at home. Life itself awaits your choice! Would you opt for a) going to a gig or b) engaging in intimacy? The outcome, as is often the case with such kinds of questions, is clearly: “It depends.” Reasonable people could understandably inquire: what's the gig? Who's the partner? Will it be likely to be enjoyable?

Few would pick a heavy metal lineup if the choice was a magical night with a favorite star. But adjust either end of the comparison, and it turns less clearcut. For the 40,000 people presented with this choice by a gig organization, no further details was offered – and the response emerged unambiguously and overwhelmingly in favour of live music events.

Study Data Reveal Unexpected Choices

A worldwide report, polling 40,000 people aged between 18 and 54 in different nations, showed that gigs currently stand as the number one form of entertainment, ranking above sports, movies and – indeed – intimacy. Given the choice to only one option of enjoyment for the rest of their lives, nearly four in ten picked concerts, compared to going to the cinema (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also significantly more as inclined to prefer watching their top musician on stage (70%) instead of sexual activity (30%).

You arrive anticipating pleasantly surprised – and quite often you could wind up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Certainly it's expected that a PR survey conducted for a live event company would result so heavily preferring gigs – and, amid the playful tone of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, say Paul McCartney, you can see why attending his concert might win out over a routine experience. Yet this binary choice between live music or sex, clearly absurd though it may be, is fascinating to reflect on given the odd moment we experience with both.

The Change of Concert Culture

Lately, concert attendance has become not just a group event but a competitive sport. Major promoters duly point out that arena crowds has “grown significantly annually”, and live events sell out more rapidly than previously. Simply getting admissions now needs detailed strategy, rapid-fire response times and significant funds (or a generous credit card limit). Though you manage, it’s not enough to just show up and experience the event. Nowadays exists an expectation, especially for pop fans, that you might enhance your enjoyment value by attending more than once (even travelling internationally), studying the performance lineup ahead of time and memorizing the cues to perform and fan traditions established by previous crowds.

Several concertgoers report feeling affected by their experience at popular events: appearing as a scripted production of massive crowds, to which some individuals came unaware of the steps. The extended event, earning massive sums, demonstrated of the lengths to which people will go to feel part of a historic occasion and see their favourite artist sing, although the live sound seems increasingly less important than the production.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Sexual activity, conversely – a relatively cheap and common experience – is in challenging circumstances. According to contemporary studies, about a quarter of adults were intimate in an regular period, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In another major country, current statistics showed that over a quarter of people admitted to avoiding sex at all in the past year, up from fewer people in previous decades. In both territories, the trend has been attributed to decreased encounters with younger generations. Juxtapose this with the industry expanding rapidly for large concerts and the cutthroat competition for admissions. Of course it’s not as simple as a straightforward choice between either option – “would you rather experience a popular event repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an signal of which is perceived as the more dependable pleasure.

Surprising Parallels

Relationships and gigs are more similar than people often believe. Both represent the initiation of a connection, a actual experience of ideas or promise that may have developed only in your head. You come with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but anticipating pleasantly surprised – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing relies heavily on if your enthusiasm and expectations correspond with partners. Quite often you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a smoke and a moment alone on your own. And, in both cases, stimulants and beverages can either enhance or reduce the situation (but absolutely assist the most dire occasions simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The magic to live events and relationships depends on finding that elusive sweet spot between comfort and excitement, consistency and change, challenge and comfort. Certainly it's uncommon – but it’s the memory of when it worked, the understanding that it’s possible, that inspires us to give it another shot: to {