The big Live Earth concert event has come and gone, and certainly everyone can agree it was an unbridled success. Listeners around the world had the chance to enjoy stale music from the likes of The Police, Genesis and Garth Brooks, and a holographic Al Gore was beamed around the world to convert any remaining skeptics, most of whom were likely not even tuned in.

If recent weather trends in Seattle are any indication, global warming is now most assuredly on the run.

OK, so maybe not. It’s hard not to side with the cynics when it comes to Live Earth’s efficacy, especially when there are so many more pressing and achievable objectives to accomplish, like getting our troops home from Iraq. Although if Live Earth managed to convince even one person to try riding the bus, it could be said to have had an impact.

These days, it seems that benefit concerts are a dime a dozen, even when it comes to multi-million-dollar grossing superstars. Which makes this week’s Rock Lottery 3 at Neumos all the more impressive. Not only will the money raised have a significant impact on the local music scene, helping to support all-ages shows via The Vera Project, but the concept is killer: Take 25 local musicians, break them up into five new bands and give them 12 hours to write three to five new songs. Instead of forcing down another shot of “Roxanne,” concert-goers will get to enjoy a refreshing dose of never-before heard material. The creative juices will practically be spilling off the stage like sweat at KUBE 93’s Summer Jam.

What do the musicians get out of the deal? The chance to eviscerate other musicians they might not otherwise give the time of day? No, no, no — Seattle’s music scene is certainly much too lovey-dovey for such ultra-violent pettiness as that.

“It started with this one guy insisting that we play some kind of jazz fusion, when one of the musicians in our group had only rudimentary pop-punk skills,” said The Long Winters’ John Roderick of his experience in the first Seattle Rock Lottery.

“After he left, we based our three songs around some simple chord progressions that everyone could play and the better musicians could stretch out.”

OK, so nothing’s perfect, but if previous Rock Lotteries are any indication — and the concept has been going strong in Denton, Texas, for ten years now — the results are nearly always impressive. Not only are most of the individual songs great, but many of the groups manage to coalesce in such a way as to create their own cohesive sound.

This year’s Rock Lottery features such talent as soul songstress Choklate and singer-songwriters Damien Jurado and Jen Wood, as well as members of Harvey Danger, The Lashes, Maktub, “Awesome” and many more (The Rock Lottery 3, Neumos, Saturday, July 14, doors at 8 p.m., 21+, $10).

For those who are still not sold on The Rock Lottery, The Vera Project makes a great case for its continued existence Friday with a show featuring With Friends Like These, Sean Nelson and His Mortal Enemies (a long-gestating side project by the brains behind Harvey Danger), The Catch and Portland’s Paper or Plastic (7:30 p.m., all ages, $6/$5 with club card).

And, since everyone can agree on free, it would be worth mentioning the West Seattle Summer Festival, which runs all weekend and features performances by “Awesome”, The Blakes, Peter Parker, Christy McWilson, The Purrs and many more. There will also be food and craft vendors (not free) as well as a skateboard exhibition and a beer and wine garden (also likely not free). Visit www.westseattlefestival.com for all of the details.