Black Crowes, Oasis rock Indy

Despite the predictions of inclement weather Friday night, The Brotherly Love tour's stop at Verizon Wireless Music Center, featuring the Black Crowes and Oasis, went off without a hitch and without the rain. The nearly four-hour long concert flowed smoothly, and there was hardly any wait between the bands' sets.\nAs Oasis took the stage after Spacehog's short 30-minute set, the crowd jumped to their feet. The Beatles' 'Strawberry Fields Forever' echoed throughout the amphitheater as guitarist Noel Gallagher and then his brother, singer Liam, took the stage. Liam stood there in his leather jacket and large-lensed sunglasses, surveying the crowd before simply saying "hello." The once-quarreling Brothers Gallagher seemed in tune with one another and even left the stage holding hands and skipping. \nOasis continually improved as its hour-and-a-half set progressed. The band played each song with energy and neither Oasis nor the crowd seemed to lose its enthusiasm, proving this was more than just a Black Crowes concert. They both played well to the crowd with Noel conversing verbally with the audience and Liam using his sometimes cold but powerful body language. When Noel took the vocal reins from Liam and belted out "Step Out," it was hard to believe that the whole crowd was not there to see Oasis. Everyone was smiling and dancing and screaming for more.\nThe duo ended the set with its most popular and perhaps beloved hits, "Champagne Supernova," and "Don't Look Back in Anger." But to everyone's surprise, the set did not end there -- they had more energy and opted for another Beatles hit, "I am the Walrus."\nThroughout their set, the audience repeatedly tried to garner Liam's attention, but it seemed that he just preferred to stare straight and emotionlessly ahead. He did, though, speak more with the "pit" ticket holders and even traded his tambourine with a fan that offered a Great Britain flag in exchange.\nThe Black Crowes, eager to play, dove into its set earlier than expected. Lead singer Chris Robinson enthusiastically danced around and belted out one song after another. The band opened with "Midnight from the Inside Out" from its new album, Lions. The bare-footed Robinson twirled around after the song's completion and yelled that it was great to be outside. He sported a vintage 'Italia' soccer jacket but soon took it off and was left with a T-shirt.\nIn order to stay as warm as Robinson, the rest of the crowd had to dance around just as he was. Temperatures were in the 40s, but with the breeze, it seemed a lot colder. While the Crowes' intensity never dropped, the crowd seemed more engaged when the Crowes played its older and more popular songs. The one standout song from the new album -- "Soul Singing" -- really revived the crowd.\nAlthough the Crowes played a strong set, it was disappointing that most of their selected songs were from Lions. The band still played well, and fortunately they played "Remedy," "By Your Side" and a few other oldies. After exiting the stage, the audience screamed for their return. Robinson returned and said "Thank you" and played two more songs as an encore. The Crowes even brought Noel Gallagher back to the stage to cover the Rolling Stones' tune "Can't You Hear Me Knocking."\nOverall, the show was great, although it suffered slightly from poor sound quality and a lack of favorites by the Crowes.