Ever since Bruce Springsteen announced his upcoming album I’ve spent a lot of time and energy criticizing the majority of his post-”The Rising” discography. I knocked his recent music for being too broad and preachy. I said he stopped writing for himself and started writing for the fans. His music has become almost more folky then rock and roll.

So when I was unable to score tickets for the first leg of his U.S. tour, I wasn’t too disappointed, because the sets will be shorter and primarily filled with songs from his new album “Wrecking Ball” (Side note: Fuck you Ticketmaster). On the plus side I would have more money to spend on the stadium tour he’ll undoubtedly have when he returns from Europe in August, when he’ll dig deeper into the band’s incredible catalog.

However after watching their spirited performance at the Grammy Awards and last night’s jam session on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” there is a serious chance I’ll be overpaying for some nosebleed seats on StubHub. Last night Bruce and the E-Street Band performed their current single “We Take Care of Our Own” and the title track “Wrecking Ball.” Both songs translate really well to the live format, with hand claps and repeating choruses that encourage crowd participation.

At 60-years-old The Boss still puts on a better show than musicians a third of his age. There is no telling how much longer him and his band can physically keep up this pace, but last night, especially on “Wrecking Ball,” they sounded better than 95 percent of bands I’ve seen perform on TV in the last couple years.

“Wrecking Ball”

“We Take Care of Our Own”