Concert: Big Time Rush

Earlier this week, Coog Radio gave away tickets to see Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush at the Bayou Music Center and they went fast! I attended the show this past Saturday evening, and my concert experience was much different than usual. This was my second time seeing BTR live in concert, first being at the Houston Rodeo in 2012.

First, let me give you a background of who these heartthrobs are. Big Time Rush is not your usual television stars turned singing group. They simultaneously received a record deal and a television show from the start. Kendall is the lead singer of the group and often the favorite member of the band.  James is the pretty boy and is usually the second lead. Logan is a Texas native, who was feeling Houston last night due to his frequent use of the term, “H-Town.” Carlos recently jumped the broom with former Spy Kid, Alexa Vega, and they both have changed their last names to PenaVega.

I arrived to the venue at 7 PM, the exact time that doors opened. I was expecting to see teenage girls all over the place who were attempting to get the boys’ attention. Instead, I was surrounded by girls aged 6- 13 years old with their mothers and the occasional father. My friend and I chatted with a few of the young girls in line who made custom BTR sweatshirts and were accompanied by their mothers. Once I got inside the venue, it was swarmed with parents and their children buying merchandise and grabbing a bite to eat before the show started. There was no liquor in site, which was unusual for me to see, a frequent hip-hop concert attendee.

The audience consisted of 80% parents with daughters who had on hair bows and sequin skirts, 10% high school girls who enjoy One Direction and Harry Potter books, 5% young boys who were ecstatic to see BTR, and 5% college aged girls who mostly came alone. I was in the last 5%. During one point of the show, the Big Time Rush boys tried to decide who could make more noise, the kids or the parents.

The show started at 8 PM with opening act, Olivia Somerlyn. Olivia is a pop artist that has toured with artists such as The Jonas Brothers, Jessie J, and also accompanied Big Time Rush during their Summer Break tour in 2013. Not only does she sing, but she can also play the piano along with it. Olivia had great interaction with the fans and definitely knew how to rock the crowd.

After the show, Olivia had a meet and greet for fans at the merchandise table and the line was wrapped around the building! She signed autographs, took multiple pictures, and talked and laughed with fans.

Chants of “Big Time Rush” began at 8:45 as the boys were preparing to hit the stage at 9 PM.  When the curtain dropped, the audience was screaming and Big Time Rush was ready to perform! Accompanied by a new DJ, the boys performed hits from their self titled television show and albums.

The stage setup was simple, with steps and platforms and the absence of large screens consisting of effects and videos of the show. One part of the stage that really stuck out was the trampoline in the middle of the platforms. Throughout the show, the boys would jump on it and land on different platforms on the stage. James would occasionally perform a backflip, which had us all swooning.

The second set was completely acoustic and introduced the band, Heffron Drive, which consists of Kendall and the BTR guitarist. After wards, James borrowed Olivia’s red keyboard and performed his solo song, “Shot in the Dark” for the second time on tour. Later, Kendall grabbed his own guitar and the rest of the boys joined in on stools and sang three more acoustic versions of their songs.

For me, the most interesting part of a concert is to see the interactions between the fans and the artists. Big Time Rush were constantly shaking and holding hands with the audience and Kendall was throwing guitar picks left and right. The boys threw towels and their hats into the crowd. Throughout the show, each member would grab a fan’s phone and record them selves singing to it. A fan also gave a teddy bear to Carlos, who hugged it and placed it on the side of the stage.

Then the time came. The boys were going to pick out four girls from the crowd to be their “Wordwide Girls.” Posters went up from dedicated fans who were eager to be chosen to be serenaded by BTR.  The worldwide girls consisted of a 6 year old girl and a fan who came all the way from Venezuela.

Check out Big Time Rush performing an acoustic rendition of “Worldwide” with their hand-picked world wide girls:

After the slowed down and relaxed set of the show, they boys pumped up the crowd with their biggest hit to date, “Boyfriend,” which features Snoop Dogg. This is my favorite song, so you know the phone was put away and I was jamming out! The song came out in 2010 and is still a fan favorite at their concerts till this day.

Towards the end of the show, big round red and white balloons were thrown into the audience during the songs “Elevate” and “Confetti Falling.” The boys then came back for an encore and performed a mash up of the Big Time Rush television theme song and “City is Ours.” The show then ended with the theme song and everyone said goodbye to James, Kendall, Carlos, and Logan.

This may be one of Big Time Rush’s final tour, as they go on pursue their solo careers. The group has been together for about 5 years and have had great success on television and in music. I, personally, have been keeping up with BTR since they started and still watch their show. Hopefully,if they break out (which I hope they don’t!), they become superstars of their own.

Check out the music video for “Boyfriend” feating Snoop Dogg and “Worldwide”: