I don't want to start a Bruce versus JBJ competition argument but I just want to use the following as an example...

Why can't the band mix the sets around? I'm not criticising rhetorically i'm asking - each time i do everyone shoots me down... but it's not a question of the new fans NEEDING to hear certain songs, and we've discussed in the past how much room there actually is for manouevre...

Look at this example of 3 consecutive BS&ESB shows

March 11 / Rochester, NY / Blue Cross Arena
Notes: "Incendiary" was how one witness described Bruce's performance, making the tour premiere of "Fire" all the more appropriate. From opening with "No Surrender" to "Fire" by request in the second encore, Bruce was extra loose and the show was chock full of surprises: "My Love Will Not Let You Down," "Blinded By the Light," "Nothing Man," "Backstreets," and "Night" all made the set. "Countin' on a Miracle" and "Thunder Road" were originally on the setlist but crossed off, to great effect. Also not making the show was Patti Scialfa, out sick for the second night in a row.
Setlist: No Surrender/The Rising/Lonesome Day/My Love Will Not Let You Down/Empty Sky/You're Missing/Waitin' on a Sunny Day/Blinded By the Light/Worlds Apart/Badlands/She's the One/Mary's Place/Nothing Man/Backstreets/Night/Into the Fire
First Encore: Bobby Jean/Ramrod/Born to Run
Second Encore:My City of Ruins/Born in the U.S.A./Land of Hope and Dreams/Fire/Dancing in the Dark
March 10 / Providence, RI / Dunkin Donuts Center
Notes: Patti is unable to make the Providence show due to illness-- "She's sick... sick of me!" Bruce jokes. "She sends her regards." We're told that the sound was "a little thin at times," but Soozie did an admirable job making up for Patti's absence. (Get well soon, Patti.) "War" opens the show for only the second time, and several rarities make their first 2003 appearance -- "Night," "The Fuse," and "Spirit in the Night." "If I Should Fall Behind" takes the solo piano slot. The "local special" was a poignant one, as Springsteen and the E Street Band played one for the victims of The Station tragedy (on February 20, nearly 100 people died in a fire at the Rhode Island nightclub) -- "Bobby Jean" opened the encore, dedicated to those who died in the flames.
Setlist: War/The Rising/Lonesome Day/Night/Candy's Room/The Fuse/Empty Sky/You're Missing/Waitin' on a Sunny Day/Spirit in the Night/Worlds Apart/Badlands/Out in the Street/Mary's Place/Thunder Road/Countin' on a Miracle/If I Should Fall Behind (solo piano)/Into the Fire
First Encore: Bobby Jean/Ramrod/Born to Run
Second Encore:My City of Ruins/Born in the U.S.A./Land of Hope and Dreams/Dancing in the Dark

March 7 / Atlantic City, NJ / Boardwalk Hall
Notes:A true Jersey-style house party. The show was bookended with Atlantic City treats, but from start to finish it was one for the ages. The band came out as a group to the strains of the Miss America theme, and Bruce was in high spirits, clearly touched to be playing Boardwalk Hall, later saying that it was "real old school tonight" and mentioning the bands (Beatles, Stones) who once graced that stage. He also had plenty to say tonight, particularly after "Empty Sky:" "One thing that bothers me, as a songwriter you always write to be understood." He discussed the "I want an eye for an eye" line, contending that "I wrote that as an expression of the character's confusion and grief, never as a call for blind revenge or bloodlust....we can't be too careful about these things these days....We're living in a time when there are real lives on the line...had to make sure that line was clearly understood." From the Bus Stop/Saint in the City 1-2 punch (with some killer piano work by Roy on the latter) to a solo piano version of "Jersey Girl" (dedicated to "you know who") there was plenty of fodder for long-time fans. Bruce dedicated The Beatles' "Tell Me Why" to his mom, who brought him down to Atlantic City when he was a kid to see Chubby Checker, and to "all the bands that played in this room that inspired us." High energy throughout, a strong setlist within the Rising framework, a killer show.
Setlist: Atlantic City/The Rising/Lonesome Day/Prove It All Night/Empty Sky/You're Missing/Waitin' on a Sunny Day/Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street/It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City/Worlds Apart/Badlands/Out in the Street/Mary's Place/Countin' on a Miracle/Jersey Girl/Into the Fire
First Encore: Tell My Why/Glory Days/Born to Run
Second Encore:My City of Ruins/Born in the U.S.A./Land of Hope and Dreams/Dancing in the Dark/Roll of the Dice