Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band European tour: Thrills, spills and star power

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band have conquered Europe — and there's more to come.

Band members are heading home for a short break after 12 shows into the band's European stadium tour.

The reviews are glowing.

“This is a show to live long in the memory,” said the Independent of Ireland after the band's May 7 concert at the RDS Arena in Dublin.

Yet, there have been a few moments of notoriety over the run that make this tour, the pedestrianly named “2023 Tour,” one that will be discussed for a long time after the final encore.

The tour resumes June 11 in the Netherlands and comes back the States starting with Aug. 9 and 11 at Wrigley field in Chicago. The big ones for Jersey fans are Aug. 30, Sept, 1 and 3 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Here's a look at highlights, and some diversions, of the just completed first half of the European run.

First Lady at first show

The reviews are in, former First Lady Michelle Obama was a hit at the April 28 show at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain. Obama, actress Kate Capshaw and E Street Band member Patti Scialfa joined the Boss and the band during the “Glory Days.”

Obama had a tambourine and it wasn't just for show.

“How cool is my wife!' said former President Barack Obama at the show, as captured on Michelle's Instagram.

Springsteen visits family roots in Ireland

The Boss connected with his Irish ancestors in County Kildare in Ireland as the E Street Band played three shows, May 5, 7 and 9, at the RDS Arena in Dublin.

The Boss' kin on his father's side came from Kildare in the mid 1800s. Springsteen made a surprise visit to the Creative Performance Academy in Kildare and sang an a cappella version of his 1984 hit “My Hometown” with the ladies at a local pub in Kildare on May 4.

“You guys, I’m firing the E Street Band and I’m hiring you,” said Springsteen to laughter.

Prior to his Kildare jaunt, Springsteen visited Shane MacGowan of the Pogues in his Dublin home. MacGowan, who has used a wheelchair since breaking his pelvis in 2015, is suffering from encephalitis.

Tragedy in Italy

The show must go on is a revered show business adage.

Yet, many questioned if the Springsteen and E Street Band show May 18 in Ferrara, Italy, should have proceeded as the venue was about 30 miles from the Emilia-Romagna area in northern Italy, where rains, flooding and mudslides killed more than a dozen people.

Some were disappointed the show went on and some fans were disappointed that there was no reference to the situation during the show. Springsteen has a long history of connecting his shows with the plights of those around the world. During an August 2016 concert t MetLife Stadium, he dedicated “My City of Ruins” to the victims of the recent earthquake in the Apennines Mountains of central Italy.

Guitarist Steven Van Zandt said on Twitter a week after the show the band was not aware of the situation in Emilia-Romagna.

“We didn’t know a thing about it,” said Van Zandt on Twitter. “All we heard was the crew had to work overtime because the venue was one big mud hole from the rain. That was all.”

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Boss falls in Amsterdam

Springsteen has climbed, slid, crowd surfed, danced and jumped off pianos in concert over the years.

On May 27 at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, he tripped and fell during “Ghosts.” The 73-year old Boss didn't stay on the ground for long.

“Goodnight everybody!” Springsteen joked.

He was helped up by stage hands and guitarist Nils Lofgren and continued the show.

The tour's multi-level staging does seem to have its share of stairs, which Springsteen climbs nightly.

“With stairs like that, baby we were born to fall,” commented a fan.

E Street Band pre-concert warm up

What do the members of the E Street Band do to get ready for the show?

They apparently dance like Morris Day and the Time. E Street Band percussionist Anthony Almonte shared a video of him, guitarist Nils Lofgren, singer Curtis King and a fourth person dancing like Day and the Time to the Boss' “Ramrod” backstage earlier this week.

“We’re stepping up the Pre-Show Show, with our guest being the one and only Nils Lofgren!!” Almonte said. “Giving you a bit of The Time moves to Ramrod! Rock on y’all!”

Lofgren, who's been known to tap dance during his solo shows, also shared the vid.

Starpower in Europe

Stas and notables have flocked to the European shows.

That was especially true at the May 21 concert at the Circo Massimo in Rome where Woody Harrelson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sting, Nick Cave, Lars Ulrich from Metallica, and Chris Rock attended.

“I just Met Chris Rock (heart emoji),” said Michelle Moore, member of the E Street Choir, on social media.

Rock posted a few snippets of the show to his Instagram story. One was Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt mugging it up or the camera on “Glory Days.” Another was a band shot during “Dancing in the Dark.”

If he wasn't a fan before the show, he's a fan now.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band tour Europe, make headlines