You can always tell when summer’s over in Bend by the city’s three major outdoor concert series (you know, just in case the sudden 50-degree weather last week wasn’t indication enough). Les Schwab Amphitheater, the Century Center and the Athletic Club of Bend all wrapped up their seasons this past week with shows from Modest Mouse and Built to Spill; Gov’t Mule; and The Shins and Day Wave, respectively.

Your friendly neighborhood music critic managed to get to Gov’t Mule on Thursday and The Shins on Tuesday (with apologies to Modest Mouse and the always wonderful Built to Spill). More on their individual sets in a minute.

But first, in light of noise complaints against outdoor concerts in the city once again making headlines, it’s interesting to note that both these shows felt a bit reined in as far as volume levels were concerned. The hard-rocking Gov’t Mule in particular sounded subdued for its first set (again, volume-wise, not the performance itself, which was typically ferocious), and more than one audience member yelled for the bass, drums or both to be turned up. The Shins’ set was a bit louder, with a few more sound hiccups — at times singer James Mercer sounded like he was singing inside a tin can — but still a comfortable listening level without earplugs (unless you were right on top of the stage).

Whether the reduced volumes were real or perceived, intentional or not, they were welcomed at least by this reviewer. Don’t get me wrong — I love loud music (louder than most, probably). I’d also love to be able to keep listening to that music for many years to come. Call me old, but leaving Gov’t Mule with the lyrics to the encore cover of The Doors’ “People Are Strange” stuck in my head, rather than the usual incessant ringing that accompanies most hard rock shows, was quite pleasant, thank you very much.

Now, on with the show(s).

Gov’t Mule

The Southern jam band, led by former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes, has gone in many directions since its power-trio debut in 1995, touching on funk, soul, reggae and almost anything else in between. This musical adventurousness was on full display throughout the band’s two ferocious (Did I say that already? It bears repeating.) sets Thursday night.

“Revolution Come … Revolution Go,” the band’s 11th studio set, dropped earlier this year, and the quartet set the mood with its intro music (a collage of songs, such as The Beatles’ “Revolution No. 9,” with a “revolutionary” bent) and first number “Mule.” Though it’s a song from the band’s self-titled debut, its subject matter, with lyrics referencing the U.S. government’s promise in the 1860s to emancipate slaves (“Where’s my mule? Where’s my 40 acres?”), feels akin to some of the more political moments on “Revolution.”

The song was the first of many seemingly effortless jams to come (no warm-up needed here, despite what looked like freezing rain or snow or something falling throughout much of the show), anchored on Haynes’ jaw-dropping solos and bassist Jorgen Carlsson’s fat grooves. The Neil Young-esque “Banks of the Deep End” gave keyboardist Danny Louis space to wail away on organ, while longtime drummer Matt Abts got chances to shine on the next two songs, “Whisper in Your Soul” and the ponderous instrumental “Doing it to Death.”

An extended jam on the title track to “Revolution …” featured a snippet of “Eleanor Rigby,” the first of many playful song quotes throughout the evening — not to mention trombone from Louis and some mean double-bass work from Abts to close out the song. And while Haynes’ guitar work deservedly gets much attention, now would be a good time to mention his considerable vocal prowess as well.

Set two opened with the slow-burning “Hammer & Nails,” another showcase for Haynes’ note-demolishing slide work. “Devil Likes it Slow” offered up some New Orleans-esque funk in its organ lines, while “Scared to Live” dipped into reggae territory.

The jams built to a frenzy for the end of the set. The soulful “Sarah, Surrender,” the Allman Brothers’ “Dreams” and especially the band’s fearsome take on Humble Pie’s “30 Days in the Hole” (featuring snippets of Ray Charles’ “I Don’t Need No Doctor”) topped each other in quick succession.

The Shins

Roughly halfway through the indie rock sextet’s hour-plus set Tuesday, bandleader James Mercer motioned for the band to stop playing. He’d forgotten the lyrics to “Saint Simon.”

“I’m watching the people, thinking about what a great time everyone’s having,” he said by way of explanation. “I was not even present at all.”

Mercer looked downright exuberant throughout the show, perhaps surprising considering his predilections toward melancholy songs and a melancholy demeanor (at least in the band’s early career). Indeed, The Shins may be the happiest-looking band I’ve seen play Bend this summer — no small feat considering the way many touring musicians talk about this city.

This translated into the performances, starting with the mellow rocker “Caring is Creepy” to open the show and carrying over into “Australia.” “Name For You,” the first of six songs taken from new album “Heartworms,” sounded quite comfortable alongside the older songs, showcasing how consistent (with the possible exception of 2012’s “Port of Morrow” album) Mercer’s been as a songwriter over the years.

Though a bit front loaded with mellower numbers, the set began to pick up some steam on “Mine’s Not a High Horse,” which featured deft percussion work from drummer Jon Sortland. “Mildenhall,” a standout from “Heartworms,” was the first stone-cold highlight, here enhanced with haunting violin from keyboardist Patti King and guitarist Mark Watrous (three violins would reappear for the sleepy “The Fear” during the encore).

Despite promises that fans could vote on the set lists for this tour, the song order was remarkably close to those of other recent shows, checking with setlist.fm. Granted, it’s not like the band wasn’t going to play “Phantom Limb” or “New Slang” (it did, and both were standouts, naturally), but it seems odd to offer the voting and then not alter the set.

But that’s a minor quibble, and no one in this crowd seemed disappointed by what was offered, especially as the show built to its climax with the aforementioned “Phantom Limb” and “Simple Song.” The latter saw the band unleash its full attack on the song’s heraldic riff, with Mercer straining at the upper register of his voice.

— Reporter: 541-617-7814, bmcelhiney@bendbulletin.com