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Envision finding yourself with a night off. You feel energized, ready for adventure, and hoping to shake up your regular habits of relaxing at home. The world is your oyster! Do you choose a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The outcome, as is often seen with these sorts of queries, is clearly: “That depends.” Mature individuals may reasonably inquire: what's the show? Who is the partner? Is it likely to be good?

Not many would pick a heavy metal lineup if the choice was a dream date with a favorite star. Yet change either end of the equation, and it grows more complicated. In the case of the participants asked this question through a live event company, no further details was offered – and the answer emerged unambiguously and strongly in favour of live music events.

Research Findings Reveal Surprising Choices

An international study, polling 40,000 people ranging from 18 and 54 from 15 markets, revealed that live music currently stand as the number one leisure activity, surpassing games, cinema and – yes – sex. Given the choice to a single form of activity permanently, nearly four in ten picked live music, against film attendance (17%) and games (14%). The group was more than twice as prone to choose attending their preferred performer in concert (70%) over sex (30%).

You arrive anticipating delightfully amazed – and frequently you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth

Factors and Reflections

Naturally it’s not surprising that a promotional study carried out for a concert promoter would result so heavily preferring live shows – and, amid the playful spirit of a would-you-rather, if your top performer is, say an iconic star, one can appreciate why seeing him may be chosen instead of a ordinary situation. However this either-or decision between gigs or sex, clearly absurd even if it seems, is noteworthy to consider amid the peculiar juncture we face with each.

The Transformation of Live Music Experience

Lately, gig-going has become not just a communal experience but a competitive sport. Event companies appropriately highlight that large venue turnout has “tripled year-over-year”, and live events get booked up more rapidly than previously. Merely acquiring admissions now demands military-level planning, instant reactions and deep finances (or a substantial budget). Even if you succeed, that alone won't do to simply turn up and enjoy the show. Currently there is an expectation, particularly with pop fans, that you might enhance your return on investment by attending more than once (even travelling internationally), studying the performance lineup beforehand and memorizing the cues to perform and fan traditions created by previous crowds.

Many concertgoers describe being scarred by their experience at major tours: appearing as a choreographed performance of thousands of people, in which particular fans turned up unfamiliar with the steps. That 18-month event, producing huge revenue, demonstrated of the degree to which people will go to participate in a cultural moment and experience their top musician sing, though the live sound appears more and more overshadowed by the show.

The Situation of Current Relationships

Intimacy, on the other hand – an accessible and common experience – experiences difficult times. Per recent surveys, approximately 25% of people engaged sexually in an regular period, while just under a third were not engaging. Elsewhere, modern figures indicated that a significant portion of adults admitted to avoiding sex at all in the last twelve months, up from lower numbers in previous decades. In these areas, the trend has been linked to reduced intimacy among younger people. Compare this with the market expanding rapidly for stadium extravaganzas and the cutthroat competition for passes. Certainly it's more complicated as a simple decision between one or the other – “could you choose see a major tour repeatedly, or avoid intimacy?” – but it's possibly an sign of what is viewed as the more reliable pleasure.

Unexpected Similarities

Sex and live music are more similar than people often believe. They both embody the initiation of a bond, a actual experience of expectations or potential that may have developed solely in your imagination. You show up with a general notion of the probable outcome, but expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and if it turns out good or bad relies heavily on whether your energy and anticipations match theirs. Regularly you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and a moment alone alone. And, in both cases, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or reduce the situation (but definitely make the most dire experiences simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to live events and relationships depends on locating that hard-to-find balance between the known and the new, similarity and difference, challenge and comfort. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the recollection of when it worked, the knowledge that success is achievable, that drives us to try again: to {