Seven reasons why gigs make the best Valentine’s Day plans

Don't give in to the pressure. Whatever you're doing this Valentine's Day, do it at a gig. Except that…

There probably was a time when we spent the first week of February searching for the perfect Blue Nose Bear card to send to our paramour. Maybe a cupcake or a Claddagh ring, if we were especially convinced this was The One. But now… now February is a gauntlet to be run, dodging catapults and battering rams festooned with scarlet red love hearts and mass-produced slogans.

Maybe you’re single and more than happy to be single (no matter what your mum says). Maybe you and your significant other do enough the rest of the year that you don’t need to funnel all your displays of love into one arbitrary day. Whatever your motivation, here are seven reasons why you should ditch tradition and spend this 14 February listening to some great live music instead.

It’s dark and loud, so if you’re surrounded by gross couples snogging, you probably won’t be able to see or hear them.
It’s not traditionally a romantic setting so if you’re single or just not a massive fan of commercially enforced romance, it won’t be as overwhelmingly bleurgh as a restaurant or a cinema. Unless someone does that thing where they propose on stage. (Don’t ever do that thing where you propose on stage).
You don’t have to speak to them. If you are on a date and it’s going south, you can both just pretend it’s not happening, enjoy the band and neither of you will have wasted an evening.
Nobody is going to try and sell you a fake rose at a gig. You could probably buy a really nice band t-shirt for the same amount of money.
It’s an excellent way to judge common interests. I once brought a girl on a second date to see an utterly miserable alt-country band playing an acoustic show in a cinema. We’re now married.
Gigs reveal character. Does your date film an entire song on their phone? Have they spent the last three songs trying to find the right selfie to post on Instagram? Did they converse loudly through the delicate, acoustic song? They’re probably the kind of person who claps when the plane lands. Run.
Gigs are great. Aren’t they?!