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Picture having a night off. You're feeling rejuvenated, open to experience, and looking to shake up your usual routine of post-work slumping. Life itself is your oyster! Could you prefer a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The answer, as is often seen with these types of hypotheticals, is plainly: “It varies.” Thinking adults could understandably ask: what kind of the concert? Who's the partner? Is it going to be satisfying?

Few would choose a Limp Bizkit/Slipknot/Korn triple bill if the choice was one enchanted evening with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak any part of the comparison, and it grows less obvious. For the participants presented with this choice from a gig organization, no additional details was offered – and the answer came out clearly and heavily supporting gigs.

Research Findings Reveal Unexpected Preferences

A worldwide survey, interviewing a large sample from 18 and 54 from different nations, revealed that gigs currently stand as the world’s top pastime, ranking above games, movies and – yes – sex. If restricted to one type of entertainment for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents picked concerts, against film attendance (17%) and sports events (14%). Participants were more than twice as prone to select seeing their favourite artist live (70%) over sexual activity (30%).

You show up hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and regularly you might find with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Of course it’s not surprising that a promotional study carried out for a gig organizer should come out so heavily supporting live shows – and, amid the playful mood of a either-or question, if your preferred musician is, such as a legendary singer, you can see why watching him may be chosen instead of a routine experience. However this either-or decision between live music or intimacy, plainly ridiculous even if it seems, is fascinating to think about given the odd moment we experience with both.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

In recent years, gig-going has evolved into more than a communal experience but a intense competition. Event companies duly point out that arena crowds has “increased threefold year-over-year”, and festivals sell out quicker than before. Merely acquiring passes now needs extensive preparation, rapid-fire response times and deep finances (or a generous credit card limit). Even if you succeed, it’s not enough to merely attend and enjoy the show. Nowadays exists an assumption, at least among concertgoers, that you can boost your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), learning the performance lineup ahead of time and understanding the rituals to perform and calls-and-responses developed through earlier audiences.

Numerous attendees admit to shaken by their participation at large concerts: what seemed like a scripted production of huge audiences, in which particular fans came unfamiliar with the routine. Those lengthy concert series, earning massive sums, showed of the degree to which fans will travel to feel part of a significant event and see their favourite artist perform, though the actual music seems increasingly secondary to the spectacle.

The Condition of Contemporary Sexuality

Sex, conversely – a relatively cheap and common experience – is in difficult times. Based on contemporary studies, approximately 25% of adults engaged sexually in an regular period, while about three in ten were abstaining. In another major country, recent data revealed that more than 25% of adults admitted to avoiding sexual activity even once in the past year, up from lower numbers in the past. In these areas, the shift has been associated with less sexual activity among younger people. Compare this with the industry expanding rapidly for major events and the fierce battle for passes. Of course it’s not as simple as a simple decision between either option – “could you choose see a major tour repeatedly, or avoid intimacy?” – but it might be an sign of how people see the more dependable pleasure.

Interesting Comparisons

Intimacy and concerts are more comparable than people often believe. They both embody the initiation of a relationship, a real-world test of ideas or potential that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You come with a basic expectation of how it’s likely to go, but hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and whether it proves satisfying or frustrating relies heavily on if your enthusiasm and anticipations match theirs. Quite often you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and afterwards be hanging out for a smoke and a moment alone on your own. Likewise with either, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the event (but certainly help the worst situations more bearable).

Achieving Equilibrium

The wonder to both gigs and sex relies on locating that elusive sweet spot between familiarity and novelty, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of successful moments, the knowledge that it’s possible, that inspires us to try again: to {