A Night to Treasure: Is Attending Gigs Really Chosen Over Sex?
Envision having a open night. You feel rejuvenated, open to experience, and looking to change your usual routine of post-work slumping. Your options offers possibilities! Would you opt for a) seeing live music or b) being with a partner? The response, as frequently seen with these sorts of queries, is clearly: “That depends.” Reasonable people could understandably wonder: what's the gig? With whom is the companion? Is it expected to be enjoyable?
Few would select a heavy metal lineup if the alternative was one enchanted evening with a beloved celebrity. But adjust one side of the scenario, and it turns less clearcut. For the participants posed this query through a live event company, no additional clarification was given – and the response emerged clearly and strongly in favour of concerts.
Research Findings Reveal Interesting Trends
A worldwide report, questioning thousands of participants from 18 and 54 in 15 markets, showed that gigs are now the number one form of entertainment, ranking above sports, movies and – absolutely – intimacy. When limited to a single form of entertainment for the rest of their lives, 39% of respondents selected live music, against watching movies (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also more than twice as prone to select watching their top musician in concert (70%) instead of sexual activity (30%).
You appear hopeful of being happily shocked – and regularly you’ll end up with another person's locks in your mouth
Context and Considerations
Certainly it’s not surprising that a PR survey carried out for a live event company would result so strongly preferring gigs – and, in the freewheeling mood of a would-you-rather, if your top performer is, for example Paul McCartney, you can see why seeing him might win out instead of a routine experience. But this two-option scenario between gigs or intimacy, plainly ridiculous as it is, is noteworthy to consider given the odd juncture we experience with each.
The Transformation of Concert Culture
In recent years, gig-going has become not just a shared activity but a competitive sport. Live organizations duly point out that large venue turnout has “increased threefold each year”, and festivals are fully reserved more rapidly than previously. Just obtaining admissions now needs extensive preparation, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a generous credit card limit). Even if you’re successful, that alone won't do to just show up and experience the event. There’s now an anticipation, at least among pop fans, that you can boost your enjoyment value by seeing several shows (potentially going abroad), learning the song selection in advance and understanding the rituals to follow and audience interactions established by previous crowds.
Several fans describe being scarred by their attendance at major tours: what felt like a orchestrated show of huge audiences, in which particular fans came not knowing the protocol. That 18-month tour, earning massive sums, showed of the degree to which people will go to feel part of a historic occasion and see their favourite artist perform, even if the live sound grows somewhat secondary to the show.
The Situation of Modern Intimacy
Sexual activity, conversely – an accessible and available enjoyment – experiences difficult times. Based on recent surveys, about a quarter of individuals had sex in an average week, while nearly 30% were sexually inactive. Elsewhere, current statistics revealed that more than 25% of adults said they had not sex a single time in the past year, increasing from fewer people in earlier years. In these areas, the shift has been associated with decreased encounters among younger people. Compare this with the industry driving growth for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for tickets. Certainly it's more complicated as a simple decision between both alternatives – “would you rather experience a popular event often, or avoid intimacy?” – but it’s perhaps an indication of which is perceived as the more dependable pleasure.
Surprising Parallels
Intimacy and concerts are closer aligned than you might think. Each symbolizes the initiation of a relationship, a real-world test of expectations or promise that may have developed just in your mind. You show up with a basic expectation of what might happen, but anticipating happily shocked – and if it turns out satisfying or frustrating rests largely on how your vibe and hopes align with others. Quite often you might find with another person's locks in your mouth, and afterwards be hanging out for a cigarette and a moment alone by yourself. Likewise with either, stimulants and beverages can sometimes improve or detract from the experience (but absolutely assist the worst occasions more bearable).
Seeking Harmony
The wonder to concerts and intimacy relies on discovering that perfect combination between the known and the new, sameness and variation, challenge and comfort. Naturally it occurs infrequently – but it's the remembrance of when it worked, the awareness that it can happen, that drives us to give it another shot: to {