Big Time Rush Live at the Kia Forum
Like most people my age, I was a hardcore Disney and Nickelodeon kid. I grew up on the hijinks of Raven Baxter, Zack and Cody, Miley Stewart, the entire Zoey 101 cast, SpongeBob, and more. But it was also a time of heartache and jealousy. Unlike the privileged few whose parents had disposable money to spare, I never got to go to a Hannah Montana concert. I never saw The Jonas Brothers live. And I definitely never attended any tours from my all-time favorite boyband, Big Time Rush, made up of members Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Logan Henderson, and Carlos PenaVega. Instead, I spent my childhood putting on my own concerts in my room, blasting their music on my iPod, daydreaming about my favorite member Kendall, and dreaming of when I would, one day, be like other girls who could be in the same room as their idols.
Big Time Rush is one of those bands I love both sincerely and ironically. Because as with anything teenage girls like, it’s easy to make fun of this band and not take them seriously as the pioneers they are in the grand scheme of boyband history, the responsibility they hold for single-handedly kicking off the renaissance of boybands in 2009 and paving the way for One Direction, 5SOS, and more. Besides the fact that, in conjunction with their TV show, they were such a big part of my adolescence in understanding and appreciating pop music, the music industry, and the pains and joys of growing up under the spotlight of fame.
So when the opportunity arose for me to finally see the band in concert this past summer (especially as an adult who makes her own money now), I jumped at the chance and was even able to take my partner along–it could not have been a better night to heal my inner child.
Even before entering the arena, I could feel the aura of excitement around the venue. Most of the crowd was around my age with their partners in tow but it was amazing to also see younger kids with their parents, showcasing how timeless and popular this band remains to this day. There was a real sense of community in the air as people took pictures, helped others, stood in line for the merch tables, and dressed up, sporting everything from casual wear to full glam to DIY tree hats (IYKYK).
One of the surprising opening acts that took me down memory lane was MAX–MAX as in Max Schneider, the star of the classic 2012 Nick movie and Cinderella retelling, Rags. Not only was I able to hear about what he was up to these days, including his new music that I quickly added to my Spotify playlists during the show, but he also performed one of the songs from the movie, causing screams and sing-alongs from the already-excited audience. Right then and there, I knew we were in for an incredible nostalgia trip together that I would never forget.
Later, Big Time Rush finally hit the stage in full force, emitting screams from everyone in the audience, including myself. I felt like I fully lost control of my body, my inhibitions, my excitement. It was actually hilarious seeing my partner watch me wide-eyed and realize just how much I loved this band and their music.
Throughout the concert, they played all the classic songs like “Boyfriend,” “Big Time Rush,” and “Famous,” which got the crowd into a huge, giant sing-along every time. Being used to smaller, more intimate venues throughout my concert-going career, it was incredible hearing the noise of hundreds of people screaming, singing, and in some cases, crying, all at the same time.
There were so many other moments that made the concert feel like a giant love letter to their dedicated, years-long fans, especially since we were from LA. We were the ones who knew all the lore and had been watching the TV show for just as long, the ones who lived in the place where the band had spent a good chunk of their lives filming their show and recording their music.
At one point, we saw Stephen Kramer Glickman, the actor known for his role as BTR manager Gustavo Rocque, arrive at the venue and appear on stage with co-star Tanya Chisholm, a.k.a. Kelly Wainwright, to perform an improvised skit for us. Later, the band did their concert tradition of randomly choosing four girls from the crowd with the best or funniest concert signs (my favorite was the one who brought a handmade cardboard pizza so Kendall could recreate one of his famous memes) and bringing them up onstage to serenade them with a rendition of “Worldwide,” elevated even more as everyone took out their phones to light up the stadium with their flashlights during the song.
As my partner and I left the Forum that night (strategically before the very last song so we wouldn’t have to wait eons in the post-concert traffic), I couldn’t help but feel a profound sense of happiness and joy for not only fulfilling my childhood dream but also having an incredible time doing so. For being able to witness in real life, in real-time, the reminder that we BTR fans may have grown up a lot over the past decade. We have jobs, degrees, adult lives now but based on what I heard and saw in that stadium, we’re all still fervent teenage girls at heart, including myself.