In what initially seemed to be the oddest tour pairing since Marilyn Manson and Hole's failed trek in 1999, the Black Crowes and Oasis found a rock'n'roll synergy and thrilled a sold out audience at the Joint in Las Vegas on Friday (May 11) at the opener of the Tour of Brotherly Love.

The kickoff came right on the heels of the May 8 release of "Lions," the Black Crowes' V2 debut. Of the 12 songs the group played on Friday, six were new, including the tribal, funky "Young Man Old Man" and the Led Zeppelin-tinged "Cosmic Friend." Old favorites such as "Remedy," "Twice as Hard," and "My Morning Song" were performed rather than cuts from the Crowes' more recent studio albums.

The more pop-friendly Oasis used Friday night to dust off old album tracks and B-sides, which hearkened back to the days when the group ruled the charts in its native U.K. Like the Crowes, Oasis also avoided most of its hits, aside from 1995's "Champagne Supernova" and "Don't Look Back In Anger." Instead, the group plowed through enjoyable rarities like "Slide Away" and "Columbia" (from the 1994 album "Definitely Maybe"), and the early B-side "Fade Away."

The anticipated show-closing jam featuring members of both bands came to pass with Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher joining the Crowes for the vintage Fleetwood Mac rave-up "Oh Well." The tour continues tonight (May 14) with the first of two shows at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre; visit Billboard.com's Live Reviews for a full review of the Las Vegas performance.