Live Review: Big Time Rush – 21st June 2024 – Eventim Apollo, London, UK

Former Nickelodeon pop boy band Big Time Rush returned to the capital this weekend following two successful stops in Manchester and Birmingham in the days before and following over a decade away from UK stages.

The bands upbringing on the children’s TV network developed for them a fanbase of staggering size and while Nickelodeon success is usually felt predominantly in the US for outfits like Big Time Rush, the group, which is made up of members Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr. and Logan Henderson have built an equally large following in Europe and the UK, so it was no surprise that their return to these shores would be met with sold out notices on ticketing sites very early on. Having interviewed the lads earlier this year, we were keen to head along to catch the foursome do their thing in London.

Walking into Hammersmiths Eventim Apollo on Friday night, it would have only taken mere seconds for any unsuspecting punter to know they had arrived for a show from a former TV show boy band. Adolescents crammed every corner of the venue in their freshly bought merchandise and clasping plastic cups of soft drink as I entered to find my seat; the high-pitched screams and “Big Time Rush” chants from female fans almost deafening my 43-year-old ears while a security guard and his co-workers cheered me and encouraged a big-beard show down at the doors.

I was clearly not the target audience for this show. But that didn’t matter as I enjoyed a plethora of the groups career hits including active performances of Windows Down, Nothing Even Matters and Call It Like I See It with a sturdy backing vocal from the sold out Eventim crowd – many who insisted on filming as much of their idols as possible or wanting to capture more steamy moments where members of the band would occasionally wipe sweat from their faces with their t-shirts and flash their bare stomachs during the colourful and choreographed performance of catchy hit, Weekends with its big screen back drop of blue and purple palm trees illuminating the space.

Til I Forget About You was a highlight number in the latter half of the lengthy 23 song set and one of many songs where the band interacted with the crowd and encouraged their participation in singing back to the fourpiece who were dressed casually in either oversized t-shirts or vests. Mid-tempo numbers like Only You and Worldwide brought the pace back down and allowed for fans to catch a bit of breath and grab a cup of water that was being passed out from the front row security team into the nausea-inducing tightness of the standing section of the venue.

As the band performed hit after hit, the venue was lit up in colours that were provided by the huge backdrop of HD imagery being flashed up behind the performance of each song. Lasers often shot across the venue while stadium stye lighting dressed the top of the stage and made the bands performances feel like more of a stadium spectacle than a 5000 capacity theatre show. Though that feeling was often lifted by the band’s dynamic delivery of tracks like Big Time Rush, Waves and Elevate that filled the Eventim Apollo with as much energy as a Wembley Stadium rock show.

As the outfit closed out the set with early 2010 signature hit, Boyfriend it was clear that the spark in Big Time Rush is as bright as ever and reception received from UK fans will no doubt ignite a desire within the vocal quartet to return to our shores again soon, I’m sure. Especially with the Sold Out signs cast in red lettering on the front of the venue giving clear indication that this boy band is very much at the start of another career uplift.

Setlist:
Big Night
Windows Down
Elevate
Song for You
Waves
Call It Like I See It
Weekends
Halfway There
Only One
Nothing Even Matters
No Idea
Cover Girl
Ask You Tonight
Worldwide
City Is Ours
Music Sounds Better
Love Me Love Me
Any Kind of Guy
Paralyzed
If I Ruled the World
Til I Forget About You
Big Time Rush
Boyfriend

Brendon Veevers

::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
Over the years he has been lucky enough to review thousands of music releases and concerts and interview artists ranging from top selling superstars like 27-time Grammy Award winner Alison Krauss, Boyz II Men, Roxette, Cyndi Lauper, Lisa Loeb and iconic Eagles front man/songwriter, Glenn Frey through to more recent successes including Newton Faulkner, Janelle Monae and Caro Emerald.
Brendon manages and coordinates the amazing team of writers on RenownedForSound.com who are based in the UK, the U.S and Australia.