FIRST OFF. . .

Patrons at Matt’s Saloon in Prescott, Ariz., couldn’t believe their luck when rock superstar Bruce Springsteen arrived by motorcycle unannounced, ordered a beer and wound up in a one-hour jam session with the house band. Springsteen drove up to the country-Western bar in northwestern Arizona on Friday en route to the Grand Canyon from Los Angeles. Denny Orr, rhythm guitarist for The Mile High Band, said he noticed Springsteen enter the bar and “the next thing I knew, he said, ‘Come on, boys. Let’s jam.’ ” Springsteen played “I’m on Fire” from his 1984 multiplatinum “Born in the USA” album plus several covers of oldies such as “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Sweet Sixteen” and “Route 66.” Springsteen, wearing a leather vest and a bandanna around his neck, “was having a good time, talking to the regulars and drinking beer before word spread and the bar’s attendance swelled “from 7 or 8 people to 80 or 90 in 10 minutes,” Orr said. After the jam session, Springsteen dodged autograph-seekers, jumped on his motorcycle and roared up U.S. 89 trailed by his four bodyguards--three on cycles and another in a van.