Bruce Springsteen Jabs at London Curfew Fiasco

Katie Kindelan

Bruce Springsteen reclaimed his nickname "The Boss" during a concert in Dublin yesterday by slamming the organizers who left him powerless, literally and figuratively, at his London concert last weekend.

Springsteen started the nearly four-hour concert by flipping on a large, fake power generator and saying, "Before we were so rudely interrupted . . . " He and his E Street Band bandmates then launched into the last minute of "Twist and Shout," the same song he was playing with Paul McCartney in London when their microphones were cut off when the show ran past its allotted time.

The Boss wasn't done there. After "Twist and Shout," Springsteen sang a cover of "I Fought the Law," and later in the show he held up a sign that read, "Only the Boss says when to pull the plug." During the band's iconic hit "Dancing in the Dark," the video screens showed only a generator battery switched "on," according to the BBC.

Near the end of the concert a man dressed as a London cop came onstage and pretended to try to arrest Springsteen.

The no-holds-barred reaction from Springsteen piled on the criticism the London concert's organizer, Live Nation, and host, Westminster City Council, have already received since they cut off Springsteen and McCartney's microphones in front of 76,000 fans after their surprise duet pushed the concert 30 minutes past its 10:30 p.m. curfew.

Immediately after the show the band's guitarist, Steven Van Zandt, tweeted, "…when did England become a police state?," while London's mayor, Boris Johnson, said the musicians should have been allowed to "jam in the name of the Lord."

Live Nation released a statement after the incident saying the show was stopped because of "health and safety" issues.

Despite his joking around Tuesday night, Springsteen did stay within the rules this time around. Dublin, like London, does have a curfew, and Springsteen ended the show before the 11 p.m. cut-off time.

And though he asked, "We're not sure when the curfew is tonight. Do you really have curfews in Ireland?" early on in the concert, he knew the answer. The Boss and his band were fined nearly $40,000 back in 2009 for breaking curfew during show Dublin shows.