Concert review: Nickelodeon’s favorite boy band makes a Big Time return to Charlotte

There’s nothing quite like the sound of 10,000-plus teen girls screaming at the top of their lungs. Especially when it’s over a boy band. It felt like the crowd at PNC Music Pavilion Tuesday night had been holding in those screams for a decade.

Which checks out for Big Time Rush, the former Nickelodeon music group comprised of Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Logan Henderson and Carlos PenaVega. The show marked a return to the big outdoor venue they last filled in 2013, following on the heels of 2022’s “Forever Tour” show, which was hosted in Charlotte at Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre — a venue a quarter of the size of PNC.

If the “Forever Tour” was the band simply testing the waters for their reunion era, BTR’s “Can’t Get Enough Tour” stop in Charlotte solidified a full-fledged comeback.

The band even started the show by rising up from beneath the stage, as if they were rising from the dead. They opened with the titular song of the tour — “Can’t Get Enough,” from their just-released album “Another Life” — thus introducing their new age.

The boy band was formed in 2009 for a Nickelodeon sitcom of the same name. The show aired for four seasons, telling a fictional story of four best friends moving out who had moved to L.A. hoping to make it big in the music industry.

Every girl who was a fan of the show in the early 2010s had a favorite of the group. There was Kendall, the charismatic, unofficial leader; James, the hunk without much brains; Logan, the sensible darling; and Carlos, the goofy cutie who always wore a hockey helmet. Every girl who was a fan of the show in the early 2010s had a favorite of the group.

And the most devoted within crowd at PNC reflected those decade-old loyalties. There was a teen dressed as Bandana Man, James’ Superman-like alter-ego, sporting the perfect replica purple shade. Helmets (à la Carlos) could be spotted atop heads throughout the venue. A DIY shirt spelled out “Big Time Kendall Girl” in red sparkly letters, one of countless shirts and posters of the sort.

The guys in the audience — many of which posed as persuaded, dutiful boyfriends — knew the lyrics just as well as the die-hard fan girls, though they were nowhere near as vocal.

That showed when the band prompted the fellas to sing along to “Any Kind of Guy” to their ladies ... and it was comically quiet in comparison to the thousands of screaming girls. Understanding the shyness while applauding the effort, Logan called out, “You guys have already passed the test: You’re at a Big Time Rush concert.”

These guys are born performers, and it was clear Big Time Rush knew exactly what they were doing.

Was I convinced that Carlos really wanted to be my boyfriend when he (I swear to God) looked directly at me, specifically and sang, “I could be your bad boy or baby I could be nice / I would give you stars if you gave me the night” during BTR’s rendition of “Song For You”? Of course not. The man is 34 years old and has been married since 2014. Not that I’m bitter or anything, but what I’m trying to say is their performance wasn’t about the sincerity of their lyrics.

It was all about nostalgia. Everything from the retro lighting designs and the video montage with decade-old behind-the-scenes footage struck that chord.

And the choreography throughout the entire show was more than just well-rehearsed. It looked second-nature, as if ingrained in their muscle memory. Every hop, step, kick, wave and groove hit the mark. Even the songs from their new album — which dropped June 2 — had a 2010s feel, thanks to the classic dance moves that accompanied the tunes.

While at times it felt funny seeing these four 30-something men sing teen-y pop songs about falling in love to a crowd of fans of their former TV show, the delivery was still a hit with the audience that grew up with them.

If anything, Big Time Rush knows exactly how to play to the crowd, appealing to our collective inner tween.

In keeping with tour tradition, each band member chose girls from the audience to bring on stage and serenade with their signature love ballad “Worldwide.” A nurse, an artist behind a homemade sign, two friends in matching sunglasses, and someone who almost tackled Logan to the ground were the lucky ones Tuesday night. All of them were almost too stunned to sing along as they stood there with their arm around their idol.

There had to be well over 10,000 other girls and women who hated their guts in that moment (out of a reasonable, respectable jealousy, of course).

The band ran through the pavilion’s aisles during their pump-up anthem “Windows Down,” with swarms of fans surrounding them as they danced atop the tables in the VIP sections under the roof. They jumped to the front of the pit during “Paralyzed,” grabbing fans’ phones to take selfie videos that would become coveted camera roll gems.

Those moments of interaction — whether you were a fan who experienced one personally or not — added to the camaraderie that hung in the air at PNC along with the clouds of cotton-candy-flavored vape smoke. Because connecting with (or simply breathing the same air as) a childhood crush does wonders to the soul.

Whether the Big Time Rush “Can’t Get Enough Tour” is the band’s last hurrah or the start of something greater, it’s hard to tell from just one show. Regardless, their Charlotte show embraced a high-energy nostalgia, reminiscent of wholesome, simpler days.

Big Time Rush’s setlist

Act 1:

1. “Can’t Get Enough”

2. “Elevate”

3. “Song for You”

4. “Waves”

5. “Weekends”

Acoustic:

6. “All Over Again”

7. “Any Kind of Guy”

8. “Ask You Tonight”

Act 2:

9. “Forget You Now”

10. “Love Me Love Me”

11. “Paralyzed”

12. “Nothing Even Matters”

13. “Worldwide”

14. “Invisible”

15. “Famous”

16. “City Is Ours” / “24/Seven” / “Shot in the Dark” / “Big Night”

17. “Confetti Falling”

18. “Big Time Rush”

Encore:

19. “Windows Down”

20. “Boyfriend”

21. “Til I Forget About You”