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Imagine having a free evening. You feel energized, ready for adventure, and hoping to break from your usual routine of relaxing at home. The world is your oyster! Could you choose a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The answer, as frequently seen with these types of questions, is clearly: “It depends.” Reasonable people may reasonably inquire: what kind of the gig? With whom is the partner? Will it be expected to be good?

Not many would pick a heavy metal lineup if the alternative was a dream date with Jonathan Bailey. Yet change either end of the scenario, and it turns less clearcut. In the case of the participants posed this query by a major concert promoter, no such details was provided – and the answer came out unambiguously and strongly supporting gigs.

Study Data Indicate Interesting Choices

An international survey, questioning thousands of participants aged between 18 and 54 across different nations, showed that gigs are now the world’s top pastime, surpassing athletic events, movies and – absolutely – intimacy. If restricted to only one option of entertainment forever, 39% of respondents picked live music, compared to watching movies (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). Participants were more than twice as inclined to choose watching their top musician in concert (70%) instead of sexual activity (30%).

You arrive hopeful of being pleasantly surprised – and frequently you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Naturally it's expected that a PR survey conducted for a gig organizer should come out so overwhelmingly supporting concerts – and, amid the playful tone of a either-or question, if your favourite artist is, for example a legendary singer, you can see why attending his concert could prevail over a routine encounter. Yet this either-or decision between live music or sexual activity, obviously silly even if it seems, is noteworthy to reflect on amid the peculiar juncture we experience with these two aspects.

The Evolution of Concert Culture

Lately, concert attendance has become not just a communal experience but a serious endeavor. Live organizations duly point out that large venue turnout has “grown significantly year-over-year”, and festivals sell out more rapidly than previously. Simply getting passes now requires detailed strategy, instant reactions and significant funds (or a generous credit card limit). Although you manage, that alone won't do to just show up and enjoy the show. Currently there is an anticipation, particularly with concertgoers, that you might enhance your experience quality by going multiple times (including overseas trips), studying the performance lineup ahead of time and memorizing the cues to hit and fan traditions established by previous crowds.

Several attendees admit to affected by their experience at large concerts: what felt like a choreographed performance of thousands of people, in which certain attendees arrived unfamiliar with the protocol. Those lengthy concert series, earning massive sums, demonstrated of the lengths to which people will go to participate in a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer sing, although the actual music seems increasingly less important than the spectacle.

The State of Current Relationships

Sexual activity, by contrast – an affordable and accessible pleasure – faces challenging circumstances. Based on modern research, about a quarter of adults engaged sexually in an typical week, while about three in ten were sexually inactive. Elsewhere, modern figures revealed that a significant portion of people reported not having intimacy a single time in the past year, up from fewer people in the past. In both territories, the trend has been linked to less sexual activity in youth demographics. Compare this with the sector booming for large concerts and the cutthroat competition for passes. Certainly it’s not as simple as a straightforward choice between one or the other – “do you prefer see a major tour multiple times, or stay celibate?” – but it might be an sign of which is perceived as the more dependable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Sex and live music are more similar than you might think. Both represent the activation of a bond, a practical trial of expectations or potential that may have developed just in your mind. You show up with a general notion of the probable outcome, but expecting to be happily shocked – and whether it proves enjoyable or disappointing rests largely on whether your energy and expectations correspond with partners. Regularly you could wind up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a break and some quiet time alone. Similarly for each, stimulants and beverages can potentially heighten or reduce the experience (but certainly help the worst situations simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to both gigs and sex relies on discovering that elusive sweet spot between familiarity and novelty, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of when they did, the knowledge that it’s possible, that motivates us to attempt once more: to {