Gov't Mule jams for happy crowd at The NorVa in Norfolk

The headline act at The NorVa Saturday night kicked mule.

Warren Haynes and the rest of the boys from Gov’t Mule thrilled a crowded house on Granby Street, many of them grooving and dancing on the beer-splashed floor.

Gov’t Mule is know as a Southern rock/jam band, but they have mastered music from across the rock spectrum. Haynes, on vocals and guitar, drummer Matt Abts, keyboard player Danny Louis and bassist Andy Hess make up a very tight band. They have the individual chops and the ability to communicate with and read each other that are vital to keep any jam band from wandering from improvisation into boredom.

Abts and Hess deserve special notice as an outstanding rhythm section.

The band formed in 1994 as a side project from the Allman Brothers for Haynes and the late bassist Allen Woody, with Abst on drums.

They covered the Southern rock base thoroughly on Saturday, starting with one of their better-known songs, “Thorazine Shuffle.” With the line “Step right back and watch me now,” it’s a great number to kick off a show, and each band member got a little solo time to get going.

Gov’t Mule doesn’t bother much with the theatrical side of rock – just four men on stage playing, with some colored lights and a backdrop curtain with a trippy design – no dancing around, or flashy stuff, little or no chatting up the audience between songs.

Haynes was in fine voice during the two, roughly 90-minute sets, sounding a bit like a cross between Greg Allman and Van Morrison.

The band really hit its stride midway through the first set with a soulful “Little Toy Brain” followed by a scorching version of ZZ Top’s “Jesus Just Left Chicago” that featured one of Haynes’ best solo efforts of the night.

Throughout the concert, the band shifted from its Southern rock roots into straight rock, jazzier jamming, a little reggae and even a touch of progressive rock with Louis cranking up some organ work.

A long exploration of “Silent Scream” is the best example of that last sound, and it featured a drum solo by Abst that included using sticks, padded mallets and, surprisingly, his bare hands. Louis’ solo keyboard work Saturday tended to get lost in the sound mix, and so came off as repetitive at times. Haynes is a masterful rock guitar soloist and ripped numerous crowd-pleasing leads, but I came away from the night feeling that somehow it wasn’t one of his best outings.

The record business being what it is, Gov’t Mule doesn’t have any “hits,” so it’s no surprise that the numbers that got the biggest and most immediate responses were the covers that closed the first set, Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean,” and the concert-ending “Simple Kind of Man,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Gov’t. Mule just killed on those songs, and the crowd sang along with gusto.

In both cases, the lead guitarist from opening act Rose Hill Drive joined them. It was generous of Haynes to let Daniel Sproul share the limelight, but I would rather have simply enjoyed Haynes’ work. On the other hand, it was fun to hear Rose Hill singer Jacob Sproul channel his inner Robert Plant as he took over lead vocals for “The Ocean.”

The opening trio from Boulder, Colo. - brothers Jacob and Daniel Sproul on bass/vocals and guitar, and Nate Barnes on drums - have promise as a hard-driving rock band.

With their power-trio line-up and Jacob Sproul’s high-pitched wail, they sound a little like Rush at times.

Daniel Sproul just needs to quit proving that he can play a lot of notes really fast, and start building some solos and making that Stratocaster sing.

Touring with Haynes, he certainly is getting a lesson on that.