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Imagine being gifted with a open night. You feel rejuvenated, eager for new things, and hoping to break from your regular habits of relaxing at home. Life itself is your oyster! Would you choose a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The response, as is often the case with such kinds of hypotheticals, is obviously: “That depends.” Mature individuals might logically wonder: what's the gig? Who is the other person? Is it going to be enjoyable?

Hardly anyone would pick a heavy metal lineup if the choice was a dream date with Jonathan Bailey. However tweak one side of the scenario, and it grows more complicated. In the case of the participants posed this query from a gig organization, no additional details was given – and the response came out clearly and strongly preferring gigs.

Study Data Indicate Unexpected Preferences

A global survey, polling a large sample from 18 and 54 across 15 markets, showed that gigs are now the number one form of entertainment, ranking above sports, movies and – yes – sex. Given the choice to a single form of entertainment permanently, a significant portion selected gigs, against watching movies (17%) and athletic competitions (14%). The group was more than twice as likely to choose watching their top musician on stage (70%) instead of intimacy (30%).

You appear anticipating happily shocked – and regularly you could wind up with another person's locks in your mouth

Context and Considerations

Of course it's expected that a marketing research commissioned by a concert promoter would result so strongly supporting concerts – and, with the speculative spirit of a hypothetical choice, if your favourite artist is, say a legendary singer, one can appreciate why attending his concert may be chosen rather than a ordinary experience. Yet this two-option scenario between concerts or sex, plainly ridiculous as it is, is interesting to consider given the odd point we’re at with these two aspects.

The Evolution of Concert Culture

In recent years, live music participation has evolved into more than a shared activity but a competitive sport. Live organizations rightly note that large venue turnout has “grown significantly annually”, and festivals get booked up quicker than before. Simply getting tickets now requires military-level planning, quick decision-making and deep finances (or a high spending capacity). Even if you’re successful, it isn't sufficient to simply turn up and watch the performance. Currently there is an expectation, especially for pop fans, that you could increase your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (including overseas trips), learning the performance lineup ahead of time and understanding the rituals to perform and fan traditions developed through earlier audiences.

Many attendees describe being scarred by their attendance at major tours: what seemed like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, in which certain attendees came not knowing the routine. That 18-month concert series, earning massive sums, showed of the degree to which fans will travel to experience a significant event and see their favourite artist perform, though the actual music appears more and more secondary to the spectacle.

The Situation of Current Relationships

Sex, conversely – an affordable and available enjoyment – faces difficult times. According to modern research, nearly one in four of adults were intimate in an average week, while about three in ten were abstaining. In another major country, modern figures showed that a significant portion of individuals reported not having sexual activity a single time in the previous year, up from fewer people in previous decades. Across these regions, the trend has been linked to decreased encounters among younger people. Juxtapose this with the sector driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the cutthroat competition for passes. Certainly it's more complicated as a basic option between both alternatives – “do you prefer attend a huge concert repeatedly, or remain abstinent?” – but it might be an signal of how people see the more dependable pleasure.

Surprising Parallels

Relationships and gigs are closer aligned than people often believe. Each symbolizes the activation of a connection, a real-world test of expectations or possibility that might have amassed solely in your imagination. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but expecting to be pleasantly surprised – and how it ends up good or bad rests largely on whether your energy and expectations align with others. Quite often you’ll end up with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be hanging out for a smoke and personal space by yourself. Similarly for each, substances and drinks can sometimes improve or lessen the situation (but absolutely assist the most dire experiences simpler to handle).

Achieving Equilibrium

The wonder to live events and relationships depends on finding that perfect combination between the known and the new, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Naturally it's uncommon – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the knowledge that it’s possible, that drives us to try again: to {