An Evening to Cherish: Are Concerts Really Preferred Over Sex?

Picture being gifted with a open night. You feel energized, open to experience, and hoping to break from your usual routine of evening scrolling. Life itself offers possibilities! Do you choose a) going to a gig or b) having sex? The outcome, as is often the case with such kinds of questions, is obviously: “It depends.” Reasonable people may reasonably inquire: what's the concert? With whom is the companion? Will it be expected to be satisfying?

Hardly anyone would select a heavy metal lineup if the other option was one enchanted evening with a favorite star. But adjust either end of the equation, and it turns more complicated. In the case of the thousands surveyed asked this question through a major concert promoter, no additional details was provided – and the response came out decisively and overwhelmingly preferring live music events.

Survey Results Indicate Unexpected Choices

A global report, questioning a large sample from 18 and 54 across 15 markets, revealed that live music currently stand as the number one leisure activity, beating out games, cinema and – absolutely – intimacy. If restricted to only one option of enjoyment permanently, a significant portion selected concerts, against going to the cinema (17%) and sports events (14%). They were also over two times as prone to choose watching their top musician in concert (70%) instead of sex (30%).

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

Context and Considerations

Certainly it makes sense that a PR survey commissioned by a gig organizer might conclude so strongly preferring gigs – and, amid the playful mood of a would-you-rather, if your favourite artist is, for example an iconic star, you can see why seeing him might win out instead of a routine encounter. However this either-or decision between concerts or sex, obviously silly even if it seems, is noteworthy to consider given the odd point we experience with these two aspects.

The Transformation of Gig Attendance

Over the past few years, gig-going has evolved into more than a group event but a competitive sport. Major promoters duly point out that arena crowds has “tripled annually”, and festivals sell out faster than ever. Merely acquiring tickets now needs military-level planning, rapid-fire response times and significant funds (or a substantial budget). Though you succeed, it isn't sufficient to just show up and watch the performance. Currently there is an expectation, at least among concertgoers, that you might enhance your enjoyment value by attending more than once (including overseas trips), studying the set list beforehand and memorizing the cues to perform and audience interactions developed through past attendees.

Many fans report feeling shaken by their participation at major tours: what felt like a orchestrated show of thousands of people, where particular fans arrived unaware of the protocol. The extended tour, earning massive sums, showed of the extents that attendees will push to feel part of a historic occasion and see their favourite artist perform, although the actual music seems increasingly less important than the show.

The Condition of Modern Intimacy

Intimacy, by contrast – an affordable and accessible pleasure – is in dire straits. According to contemporary studies, about a quarter of adults had sex in an average week, while just under a third were sexually inactive. In a different nation, modern figures revealed that over a quarter of individuals said they had not intimacy even once in the past year, increasing from lower numbers in previous decades. In both territories, the trend has been attributed to decreased encounters with younger generations. Compare this with the sector booming for major events and the intense rivalry for passes. Naturally it's more complicated as a basic option between one or the other – “do you prefer experience a popular event repeatedly, or stay celibate?” – but it’s perhaps an signal of which is perceived as the more consistent satisfaction.

Interesting Comparisons

Sex and live music are closer aligned than one may assume. They both embody the initiation of a relationship, a real-world test of ideas or promise that could have built just in your mind. You arrive with a general notion of what might happen, but expecting to be delightfully amazed – and how it ends up enjoyable or disappointing rests largely on whether your energy and anticipations correspond with partners. Frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth, and later be lingering for a cigarette and a moment alone on your own. Similarly for each, drugs and alcohol can sometimes improve or lessen the event (but definitely make the most dire situations easier to weather).

Seeking Harmony

The magic to both gigs and sex depends on locating that elusive sweet spot between the known and the new, similarity and difference, challenge and comfort. Naturally it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of successful moments, the awareness that success is achievable, that drives us to try again: to {