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Envision finding yourself with a free evening. You are refreshed, eager for new things, and hoping to shake up your regular habits of relaxing at home. The world is your oyster! Could you prefer a) attending a concert or b) having sex? The response, as typically true with such kinds of questions, is clearly: “It varies.” Thinking adults could understandably wonder: what's the show? Who's the other person? Is it expected to be enjoyable?

Few would pick a heavy metal lineup if the choice was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. But adjust any part of the equation, and it grows less obvious. For the 40,000 people asked this question from a live event company, no further details was offered – and the result was revealed unambiguously and overwhelmingly in favour of live music events.

Survey Results Indicate Interesting Trends

An international report, questioning a large sample aged between 18 and 54 in 15 markets, revealed that concerts currently stand as the most popular pastime, surpassing athletic events, movies and – absolutely – intimacy. If restricted to only one option of activity forever, 39% of respondents chose concerts, against going to the cinema (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). The group was more than twice as likely to choose seeing their favourite artist in concert (70%) rather than sexual activity (30%).

You appear anticipating pleasantly surprised – and frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Of course it's expected that a marketing research carried out for a concert promoter would result so heavily supporting live shows – and, with the speculative spirit of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, say Paul McCartney, it's understandable why watching him could prevail instead of a common or garden situation. But this two-option scenario between concerts or intimacy, clearly absurd though it may be, is fascinating to consider considering the strange point we experience with both.

The Evolution of Live Music Experience

In recent years, gig-going has become not just a group event but a competitive sport. Live organizations appropriately highlight that arena crowds has “grown significantly annually”, and festivals are fully reserved faster than ever. Just obtaining admissions now requires detailed strategy, quick decision-making and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Though you’re successful, it’s not enough to simply turn up and enjoy the show. Nowadays exists an assumption, at least among music enthusiasts, that you could increase your enjoyment value by going multiple times (potentially going abroad), learning the performance lineup beforehand and understanding the rituals to hit and audience interactions established by earlier audiences.

Numerous attendees describe being affected by their participation at popular events: appearing as a scripted production of thousands of people, to which certain attendees came not knowing the steps. That 18-month concert series, earning massive sums, was proof of the lengths to which attendees will push to experience a significant event and see their favourite artist sing, although the live sound seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The State of Current Relationships

Sexual activity, on the other hand – an affordable and common experience – faces dire straits. Based on contemporary studies, about a quarter of people were intimate in an regular period, while just under a third were abstaining. In a different nation, current statistics revealed that more than 25% of adults admitted to avoiding sexual activity even once in the past year, up from fewer people in previous decades. Across these regions, the change has been linked to decreased encounters among younger people. Compare this with the sector expanding rapidly for large concerts and the fierce battle for passes. Of course it’s not as simple as a basic option between one or the other – “could you choose attend a huge concert often, or remain abstinent?” – but it’s perhaps an signal of what is viewed as the more dependable enjoyment.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are more similar than people often believe. Both represent the activation of a relationship, a actual experience of impressions or promise that could have built just in your mind. You come with a basic expectation of the probable outcome, but hopeful of being delightfully amazed – and whether it proves satisfying or frustrating rests largely on how your vibe and expectations match theirs. Quite often you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and later be hanging out for a cigarette and a moment alone on your own. And, in both cases, drugs and alcohol can potentially heighten or lessen the event (but absolutely assist the most unpleasant experiences easier to weather).

Seeking Harmony

The magic to live events and relationships hinges on finding that hard-to-find balance between comfort and excitement, sameness and variation, effort and ease. Certainly it's uncommon – but it's the recollection of when they did, the knowledge that it can happen, that inspires us to give it another shot: to {