The Boss Gets Back to Work : Pop music: At 42, the new Springsteen opens his first tour since 1988 with a concert in his native New Jersey.

“I gotta see if you still got it,” Bruce Springsteen told the crowd at the Brendan Byrne Arena while spinning around its stage Thursday night. “You’re lookin’ a little old out there.”

Now wait just a minute.

Weren’t those words supposed to be directed at Springsteen, a. k. a. ‘the Boss”--the poet laureate of the baby boom, who’s now 42 and on his first tour since 1988? Isn’t this the pop singer whose two new simultaneously released albums--”Human Touch” and “Lucky Town”--spent only a few moments in the Top 10 before sliding into the minor leagues?

But there he was, opening the first of 11 concerts in his native New Jersey, looking fit, sounding eager and leaving the audience eating his spiritual dirt.

Opening the first leg of his U.S. tour with “Better Days,” a rousing, upbeat tune from the “Lucky Town” album, Springsteen allowed his newest material to dominate the show, which was a gamble.

The crowd, mixed in age but certainly old enough to have seen his last tour--and several before that--seemed less interested in the fresh material than in hearing old favorites.

Springsteen did scatter some older numbers around during the first half of the show--including a solo “Dancing in the Dark” and a particularly moody “Darkness at the Edge of Town.” But mostly, it was the new Bruce--or BROOOOCE!!--who commanded the stage.

The prospect of new material didn’t seem to hurt ticket sales much--about 220,000 tickets were said to have been sold for the Meadowlands engagement. The tour is expected to reach the West Coast in late September.

Radio news reports just before showtime, however, spoke of the sudden appearance of extra tickets, which an arena spokesperson attributed to industry and promotional returns, and the opening up of previously unsold seats. By showtime, however, each of the 20,000 or so seats seemed to be filled by a rabid Springsteen fan.

The first part of the show was highlighted by a stirring version of “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On),” complete with radio samples and a chorus of “No Justice, No Peace” (“L.A. is burning,” Springsteen muttered in kicking the number off). It also included “My Hometown,” which was preceded by a Springsteen update.

“A lot has happened since I last seen you,” he said. “I got a beautiful little girl (cheers). I got a beautiful little boy (cheers). I married a Jersey girl (cheers). I’m living in L.A. (boos). Oh c’mon, you can do better than that!” (At which point the salute to Los Angeles grew deafening.)

He ended up the first set with the new songs “Leap of Faith” and “Roll of the Dice,” on which he was joined by Bobby King, part of the five-member vocal chorus that backed Springsteen up on about 25% of the evening’s performance.

After intermission, the band--Roy Bittan on keyboards, Zachary Alford on drums, Shane Fontayne on guitar, Tommy Sims on bass, and Crystal Taliefero on guitar, percussion and sax--returned with “Prove It All Night,” followed by “Human Touch,” a duet between Springsteen and wife Patti Scialfa. It was her only appearance during the show.

After “Real World,” “Born in the USA,” “Light of Day” and an encore that began with “Glory Days,” he decided to deflate the hype balloon himself. “Anybody got a Billboard?” he asked, referring to the music trade journal. “ ‘Human Touch’ at 73? ‘Lucky Town’ at 105? But we’re here for bigger reasons than record sales. . . . Let’s rock!”