My view is that a show is so much more than a collection of songs, and that in judging shows the overemphasis on setlists is an understandable byproduct of the internet age but not a necessarily welcome one.
For example, to read some reviews, you'd think that it was Bad alone that made Phoenix II so memorable. I think that does a disservice to the show. Bad was perfectly placed in the setlist and the evening was building to a crescendo when it was played, which magnified it. It also fit correctly. If it had been played virtually anywhere else in the setlist, it wouldn't have fit as well.
So the bottom line is that I'm way more comfortable having the band try to construct a setlist that they are excited to play and says what they want it to say from top to bottom rather than worrying about whether and where any one song should fit. (As an also Springsteen fan, I've seen this exact discussion before, usually with Rosalita, which everyone who doesn't keep track of setlists always expects him to play but which he despises to his core.)
Still, WOWY seems like a special case. It does fit with most of what the band is doing now. If you were to ask every fan attending a show what song they most want to hear or would be disappointed not hearing, I think this might just win by a wide margin, or at least be second to Sunday Bloody Sunday in a few markets. I've seen it over a dozen times, including some fairly weak versions, and I've rarely wished something else were played instead.
In short, despite everything I've said above, add me to the list who wish they'd play it at least once in mulitple night stands in one city.
