I’d like to think that high school Becky would be excited and baffled by what I did over the weekend: went to a Big Time Rush concert with my boyfriend.

Big Time Rush—both the show and the band—was around when I was in high school, and I loved them. (Along with the Jonas Brothers.) My mom even watched some of the show with me—she always goes, “One of them had a helmet.” (That’d be Carlos.) I might have had one of the CDs but I definitely remember buying the albums on iTunes and then burning CDs with their songs to play in my car on my drives to and from high school. Yes, I’m that old that I bought songs on iTunes and used to burn CDs. I know.

I never went to any of their concerts when they toured back in the early 2010s. The group went on hiatus after the show ended in 2013. I was aware some of the guys were doing solo things, but it wasn’t until this past June that my high school fan girl came out: BTR released a new album and were going on tour. And were coming to Connecticut.

This was in the midst of trying to plan for our DC trip, and after being told by Josh that Jonas Brothers tickets “were too expensive” (they’re coming to CT in August) I kept hounding him to go to a BTR concert with me. He had to switch his shift at work, but once it was approved, I bought tickets—which happened to be in our hotel room in DC.

The concert was this past Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena. In preparation, I kept a “This is Big Time Rush” playlist on Spotify on repeat, which I really didn’t need since I still know all of the words to all of the songs. Glad my brain is good for something.

Because I am who I am, and after hearing all about the outfits for the Taylor Swift concerts, I suddenly became self-conscious about what I was wearing to the BTR show. I figured I’d be one of the older ones there but didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard.

So I asked my work-study student (who saw Taylor Swift in May), “You’re young and hip—what are the cool kids wearing to concerts these days?” This is when I found out that going out tops are back. Those were a thing when I was in college and I never really had any because, well, I never really went out. Time is a flat circle, folks.

I tried on some possible outfit ideas Thursday night and asked for Josh’s advice—while he was still confused about the term “going out top.” I had two viable options but decided to stop by Target to find a top. Most of the tops were, well, not quite actually tops—jeez I sound old—and I eventually found what they were calling a “shrunken tee.” I wanted something with coverage since I’m 29 but I was open to a somewhat crop top.

The show started at 7:00 p.m. and we decided to get dinner at the casino since it’d be easier. We left the condo around 4:00 p.m. and got to Mohegan after 5:00 p.m.—we had to circle around to find a parking garage since we missed the entrances the first time.

We were going to Tom’s Watch Bar for dinner; we honestly can’t ever pass up a sports bar. Luckily for us, it was just upstairs from the arena entrance so we didn’t have to go far after we finished dinner.

My drink was called Blue Crush—rum, Sprite, blue raspberry, and lime juice—and Josh got a Boston Lager. For an app, we got queso and chips, and for our meals, I got the California Chicken Club and Josh got the Crispy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.

From our seats at the bar, we could actually see down to the people waiting in line to get into the arena. Doors opened at 6:00 p.m., and we were done with dinner by 6:15-ish. By the time we got to the security area, we had missed the “big time rush” so to speak. (I’ll be here all week, folks.)

I had spent some time looking into the bag policy for the arena—I feel like all I do nowadays is become well-versed in venues’ bag policies—and decided to bring my clear bag with me. I didn’t have any issues getting through security, and I also saw girls with belt bags who were allowed in, so good to know for the future.

Once we got inside, we each got a beer since there was no line at the beer concession stand. Because this is when we realized we were probably some of the oldest people there. We kept an eye out for anyone else who had alcohol and/or looked close to their late-20s. It was a humbling experience to see teenagers with popcorn and sodas walking around.

The age range of attendees was from actual parents—like probably mid-40s there with their kids—to like 6 year olds. There appeared to be people around our age—late-20s to early-30s—and a bunch of teenagers, but I was confused about the young children. When did they find out about BTR? The show has been off the air since 2013 but is on Netflix. (I did a re-watch last year.) And they haven’t put out an album in 10 years.

After getting our beers, we took a lap around the concourse area and encountered two extremely long lines for the merch table. There’s no way that 1. we were going to wait in that line, and 2. spend $45 for a t-shirt or $80 for a hoodie.

Around 6:30 p.m. we went to our seats, which were in close-to-nose-bleeds territory. Hey, when I bought the tickets, I found the cheapest ones available, and they were up top. But honestly, the seats were good. I was worried we’d be too far back or too high up to see the stage, but it was a pretty decent view.

We were one of the first few people in our row, and once the openers started it filled in a lot more. The girl sitting next to Josh had on a tree hat, which I had explained to him earlier was a thing from the show.

There were two openers: Jax and Max. For some reason, I thought there was only one, so I gave misinformation to the guy next to me who asked how many openers there were. From my pre-concert scouting on TikTok, I had really only seen clips of one or the other opener, so I just assumed only one would be there. But both were in fact there to perform.

I only knew one song from each of them, but overall, they were both really good. Even Josh was impressed.

BTR didn’t come out on stage until 8:50 p.m., and this is probably when Josh should have run.

I spent the entire hour and 45 minutes of performance scream-singing all but one song—yeah, I was just as confused that I didn’t know the words to one of the songs. To the best of my memory, here are the songs they sang (some are in order and some aren’t):

• Can’t Get Enough
• Elevate
• Song For U
• Waves
• All Over Again
• Any Kind of Guy
• Love Me, Love Me
• Ask You Tonight
• Forget You Now
• Paralyzed
• Invisible
• Nothing Even Matters
• Worldwide
• 24/7
• Shot in the Dark
• Famous
• The City Is Ours
• Big Night
• Confetti Falling
• Windows Down
• Boyfriend
• Til I Forget About You

I didn’t completely lose my voice, but I was hoarse by the end. But it was worth it. It was such a great show, and I felt a bit inside for high school Becky. And Josh still wants to date me!

The show ended around 10:30 p.m., and we followed the masses out of the arena into the casino. There were groups of parents waiting outside, most likely to pick up their kid(s) from the concert. I joked with Josh that he should have just dropped me off at the concert and went and gambled for three hours.

After a quick stop at the bathrooms, we were back in the car by 11:00 p.m and on the road home. We got back to the condo just a little after midnight and immediately went to bed.

Josh keeps telling me he had fun at the concert, and I guess I’ll just have to believe him. I’m so glad I decided to buy tickets and go. I’ve only been to one other real concert in my life—back in 2017 to see Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean—so I think I was due for another concert. And as much as I would have like to see the Jonas Brothers, I’ll take BTR. (As of right now, the cheapest tickets for the JoBros at Mohegan are $175. One day.)