It was definitely a “Big Night” at the Stanislaus County Fair Wednesday with the arrival of popular Nickelodeon band Big Time Rush (BTR).
An announcer from host radio station KHOP said that the concert drew the largest crowd the fair has ever had.
The concert was packed, loud, and crazy, with dedicated fans that had waited in line for the BTR boys for hours.
Allie and Erica Valdez left their home in Livingston and arrived at the fair at 3:30am Wednesday morning to reserve their seat for the show.
After a long 17 hour wait, once showtime rolled around, the sisters thought every minute of waiting was worth it.
“We love BTR!” the sisters said. “We love their music, their show, and of course – they’re hot!”
Fans loyally waited in a long line all day long to see the boys. The sun beat down on everyone, but fans stuck it out through the heat.
Throughout the day, there were quick “sightings” of the boys which kept the crowd in line excited.
Fans had countless number of signs, shirts, and body paint they made for their favorite BTR boy.
One fan made each BTR member a bracelet with their name on it, wrote a heartfelt letter, and tied it all up in a teddy bear and gave to the boys during their performance.
The Fair’s variety free stage usually opens up at 5:00pm for fans to enter to get their seat.
However, due to the huge crowd and line that had formed, fans were let in at 3:30pm, an exciting surprise for the anxious line.
Shortly after opening the stage for seating, the BTR boys came out for an exciting sound check. They sang two of their hit songs, and fans went crazy.
The show started around 8:30pm and the amount of noise from the crowd was unbelievable.
Every single seat, bleacher, and empty space at the stage was completely taken, filled with thousands of people. This excludes fans that gathered next to every available opening to watch the show from outside of the stage.One woman said that her son had a medical emergency that demanded a visit to the hospital and that the packed in crowd wouldn’t move out of the way, ultimately forcing her to push her way out while carrying her child.
Melissa Torres said that her son had heat exhaustion, fell to the ground screaming from kidney pain, and was vomiting vile. The show was about to start when the mother and son were trying to get through a main walkway near the animals.
“There was a complete standstill. I’m only 5 foot tall and I was carrying a 3 1/2 foot tall, 44 pound kid,” said Torres. “He was screaming from pain, I was screaming for people to let me through. No one would budge. So I started shoving grown men and teenagers to get out.”
Fair officials say that they did everything they could do to prepare for and handle safety concerns regarding the large concert attendance.
“Our security staff did a phenomenal job trying to keep the areas clear,” said said Adrenna Alkhas, spokesperson for the Stanislaus County Fair. “What I know is that we have the appropriate channels for a quick response. Our team has tremendous experience in handling large crowds and we are and have been prepared for this with the help of the Sherriff’s department, Turlock Police Department, and Fire department.”
The crowd wasn’t limited to only the area around the stage. Many fair attendees said that there was a lot of traffic trying to get to the fair and by 5:00pm the line to buy fair admission tickets was never ending.
It was extremely difficult to get to the stage, as the walkways were completely crowded. During the performance fans lined up in the walkways, supporting the band from afar with homemade BTR shirts.
Despite many mixed reviews and feedback on facebook about the concert’s huge attendance, there’s virtually nothing but positive comments being made about BTR and they’re awesome performance at the Stanislaus County Fair.Lucky fans scored the opportunity to meet and take pictures backstage with the boys, courtesy of KHOP.
BTR performed their hits while fans sang along and snapped pictures throughout the show. In addition to their fun and upbeat songs they also did a two song acoustic set.
During the performance of their song “Worldwide,” a lucky girl was able to go on stage and sit between all of the boys.
The crowd also heard BTR’s new single “If I Ruled The World,” which will be launched this week.
Carlos, one of the four BTR boys, said that when the band found out about playing at Stanislaus County Fair, they had never heard of Turlock before, but it was a concert they would never forget.
Kendall, another member, raved about a delicious glass of milk he had during his day in Turlock.
The boys were amazed at the huge response they received. They danced, sang, and charmed the crowd, just as they do in their hit show Big Time Rush.
Many people in the crowd said that the boys sang just as good as they sound on TV and on their CD.
The performance was lit up by colorful lights and streamers and confetti decorated the stage and audience. The boys also threw out t-shirts to the crowd, including one that had been signed by the band members.
With good looks, fun music, and a hit show, there is no wonder why thousands came out to see BTR.
