Live Review: TLC, Boyz II Men

Punters gathered at plush The Star Event Centre for a night of nostalgia. From the glory days of boy bands and girl groups, double headliners Boyz II Men and TLC put on a show for those seeking to relive some the most iconic music of the '90s.

Yo! Mafia mixed the best of ' 90s and early-'00s R&B and hip hop by the likes of Salt N Pepa, Dr Dre and Rihanna and new songs inspired by that era from artists such as Bruno Mars & Cardi B's Finesse, which had the crowd bouncing in their seats. Video clips and scenes from old episodes of shows like The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air projected on a huge screen helped set the mood. Yo! Mafia introduces herself with, "I'm from Melbourne, but I'm about to be worldwide."

Boyz II Men walked onto the stage like all boy bands should - dressed in head-to-toe, all-white matching outfits and shades. They came out strong with hits like On Bended Knee, showcasing their smooth and soulful vocals, effortless harmonies and fantastic chemistry, which comes with nearly-30 years of being a group.

Highly choreographed dances in various formations and chime-heavy slow ballads performed on stools came as no surprise, but the medley of upbeat covers in the middle of their set did. Shawn Stockman picked up a Tele guitar and Nathan Morris a bass to perform Lenny Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way and American Woman, Bruno Mars' Locked Out Of Heaven and The Beatles' Come Together, which had everyone out of their seats. 

Ladies swooned as they handed out red roses during I'll Make Love To You, with the guys later joking that a lot of the children in the audience were probably conceived to the song. Wanya Morris injected humor into the night noting, "A lot's happened in 26 years... I used to have hair, dammit!" before they ended their set, appropriately with End Of The Road.

Dancers doing aerials and flashing lights introduced "T-Boz" (aka Tionne Watkins) and Chilli (Rozonda Thomas) of TLC, America's best-selling girl group, to the stage. Dressed like they'd just stepped out of a '90s video clip, they kicked off their set with tracks like What About Your Friends and Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg, accompanied by three horn players, four dancers, a drummer, keys player and bass guitarist. 

Excited fans rushed to dance at the front of the stage and when security told everyone to return to their seats Chilli announced that it was their tour and, "If you wanna dance, you can dance". A lucky fan was serenaded onstage as they showed off their moves with Red Light Special.

They treated fans to all their classics like Creep, Unpretty and No Scrubs as well as their great new single Way Back. TLC finished a great night with a tribute to original member "Left Eye" (aka Lisa Lopes), with old photos of the group on the screen and a rainbow appearing as her verse in Waterfalls played out.