SO FAR, EAGLES REUNION GIVING FANS PLENTY TO CROW ABOUT

This marks what is very likely the summer’s hottest concert week, what with Pink Floyd, the Eagles, Janet Jackson, Counting Crows and Tori Amos all playing Chicago in the next seven days.

Eclipsed only by Pink Floyd’s sold-out show Tuesday at Soldier Field is the return of the Eagles, playing Thursday at the World Music Theatre and next Friday at Alpine Valley. While there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the $100-plus top ticket price for the Eagles reunion tour (lawn tickets at the World are a hefty $37.25), advance reports from cities where the band has already played have been overwhelmingly favorable.

If you’ve already shelled out your hard-earned money for Eagles ducats, here’s what you can expect:

Playing from a sort of post-apocalyptic stage set, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit and four backup musicians will play a two-and-a-half to three-hour show featuring about 30 songs. Approximately half the material will be Eagles chestnuts, with the rest solo material (“The Heart of the Matter,” “Smuggler’s Blues,” “Funk (No.)49,” etc.) from Frey, Henley and Walsh. The band has also been including several new Henley-Frey songs, indicating that the end of the tour that greed created may not be the end of the reunited Eagles. Opening both shows is Melissa Etheridge.

Other concerts of note

Santana and Otis Rush, Friday at the Petrillo Music Shell at Grant Park: This free show during Taste of Chicago ought to be a treat, as blues guitarist and hometown hero Otis Rush was a seminal influence on a young Carlos Santana. A Santana/Rush jam on, say, “Black Magic Woman” would be the perfect capper.

Counting Crows, Alex Chilton and Frente!, Friday and Saturday at the Riviera: If you don’t already have tickets for these two sold-out shows, you probably wish you did. The red-hot Counting Crows have already sold more than 2 million copies of “August & Everything After,” though a radio moratorium on the played-to-death “Round Here” and “Mr. Jones” might not be such a bad idea. Alex Chilton recently played Metro with the briefly reformed Big Star, while Australia’s Frente!’s gentle acoustic version of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” is also getting mucho “new rock” radio airplay.

Jimmie Vaughan, Friday at Park West: It’s good to see former Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan back in action after an extended self-imposed hiatus from music. Vaughan’s new solo album, “Strange Pleasure,” provides many pleasures indeed, showing that the long-silent Vaughan is a decent singer as well as a sharp-edged blues guitarist. Of special note is his “Six Strings Down,” a tribute to his late younger brother, Stevie Ray.

Tori Amos and Bill Miller, Saturday at the Bismarck: Back after a triumphant recent show at the Vic, everybody’s favorite “Cornflake Girl” has sold out both shows. A special treat, though, is opening singer-storyteller Bill Miller. Like John Trudell, Miller writes about his life as a Native American without pulling any punches. Songs like “Reservation Road” and “My People” from his haunting “The Red Road” album provide affecting glimpses of a slice of American society rarely represented in pop music.

Meat Loaf, Saturday at the World Music Theatre: Seventies-style “classic rock” lives on in the persona of the ever-bombastic Meat Loaf. Reunited with songwriter Jim Steinman, who wrote the songs for the original “Bat Out of Hell” album, the Loafmeister is back on the charts with a 4-million-selling sequel album, proving that, if nothing else, you can’t keep a good Meat Loaf down. This show is sold out.

Booker T & the MG’s, Saturday at the Cubby Bear: There’s no better summertime music than the funky Memphis groove of Booker T & the MG’s. Featuring original members Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn, the group has a new album out, “That’s The Way It Should Be,” that harks back to their classic ’60s sound while adding some contemporary touches. From “Green Onions” to “Time Is Tight,” expect them to play their instrumental classics.

The Proclaimers, Sunday at the Vic: The Proclaimers-twins Craig and Charlie Reid-had one of the surprise hits of last summer with “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” a 4-year-old song that was the theme from the film “Benny & Joon.” The nerdy, bespectacled Scots are back with their new “Hit The Highway” album, an energetic folk-flavored pop offering showcasing their succinct songs and brotherly harmonies. Think of the Reids as the Everly Brothers with a Scottish burr. Opening is Greenberry Woods.

The Auteurs, Tuesday at the Double Door: There’s plenty of bile in the lyrics of Auteurs frontman Luke Haines, but his pointed missives on the theme of class distinction in his native Britain have made his group critical favorites there. The question is, how well will such British concerns play in the States?

Janet Jackson, Tuesday and Wednesday at Poplar Creek: Currently topping the charts with “Any Time, Any Place-And On and On,” Miss Jackson slips into town for two nights. Janet has certainly been influenced by brother Michael, and the choreography and special effects in her show are nearly as important as the music. While Jackson’s voice sometimes gets lost amid all the razzle-dazzle, dance anthems such as “Any Time, Any Place” and “Black Cat” ought to launch people out of their seats and onto their feet for the duration of the night.

Toni Childs, Wednesday at Park West: If you can get past her odd corner-of-the-mouth vocal style, Toni Childs’ music has much to offer. Childs’ exotic new album, “The Woman’s Boat,” was recorded in India and at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in England, and features guest appearances by Gabriel, Robert Fripp, World Party’s Karl Wallinger and members of Zap Mama. Child’s current music is a heady brew of pop and ethnic styles that succeeds more often than not.

G. Love and Special Sauce, Wednesday at Schubas, Thursday at Lounge Ax, July 15 at Metro and July 16 at the Double Door: Philly’s G. Love will be performing all over in the next week. Love and his trio’s music is a sort of oddball mix of hip-hop and traditional blues-think of it as Heavy D. and the Boyz meets John Lee Hooker. Love’s drawling, boastful raps and rough-hewn guitar and blues harp playing may not please many blues purists but are a unique combination nonetheless.

Tish Hinojosa and Kevin Montgomery, Thursday at Schubas: That Tish Hinojosa’s current “Destiny’s Gate” album is on the Warner Bros./Nashville label is ironic. After all, after being spurned by Music City’s major labels while living there in the early ’80s, Hinojosa moved back to her native Texas and went on to make a series of highly acclaimed independent label albums that showcased her poignant folk-country songs and warm vocals. Her new material ranges from the Mary-Chapin Carpenter-ish title track to bilingual songs such as “Esperate” that are drawn from her Mexican-American heritage. Opening is second generation Nashville singer-songwriter Kevin Montgomery, whose songs on his A&M album “Fear Nothing” are more noteworthy than his nasal vocals.