Photos by Andy Argyrakis

It was a double celebration for TLC, the best-selling American girl group of all time, who not only found the classic “CrazySexyCool” collection turning 30 during its latest visit to Ravinia, but marked the 25th birthday of the similarly phenomenal follow-up “FanMail.”

Thankfully, it was an ideal evening to get close in the pavilion or spread out on the lawn, plus both Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins were back in action after the latter fell ill and was forced to postpone a few shows.

As is always the case, the ladies performed in honor of the late great Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who they insisted on never replacing, and instead, featured her pre-recorded raps at various points of their 75 minutes.

The duo’s set was a synthesis of hip-hop, pop, R&B and bits of old school soul, though TLC was truly timeless throughout such staples as “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg,” “What About Your Friends” and “Baby-Baby-Baby.”

Their tone turned even sexier for “Red Light Special” prior to dialing into the continuous grooves of “Hat 2 Da Back,” “Silly Ho” and “Fanmail,” plus “Creep” and The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” weren’t that far around the corner.

The cover proved to be prophetic “that tonight’s gonna be a good night,” gradually building from the flirty “Diggin’ On You” and the self-esteem-themed “Unpretty,” to the anthems “No Scrubs” and “Waterfalls” as everyone accompanied TLC at the top of their lungs.

Co-headliner Shaggy was clearly in the “Mood” as he propelled the party at the Highland Park hangout, soon dropping the colossal bounce of “Boombastic” and many others from a more than 20 million album-selling catalogue.

His latest, “Com Fly Wid Mi,” actually finds the rapper/reggae star putting his signature spin on the Frank Sinatra songbook, alongside production from superstar Sting, who previously worked together on the “44/876” project.
However, the double Grammy Award winner focused mainly on radio regulars from the 1990s and 2000s, including “In The Summertime,” “Oh Carolina” and “Angel,” ensuring Ravinia also soaked up a sun-drenched spectacle of his own.

For additional information on TLC and Shaggy, visit OfficialTLC.com and ShaggyOnline.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Ravinia include Tom Jones (Sept. 7); Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit (Sept. 8) and Crowded House (Sept. 11). For additional details, visit Ravinia.org.

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