I think my favorite thing about traveling is checking out all the interesting things different places are engaged in and neatly filling them away in the "cool things that other cities are doing that Milwaukee could easily be doing as well" sector of my brain.

Certainly there are boundaries and resource limitations, and I'm not saying we should attempt to host the Olympics or attempt a MXMW (Mid by Midwest), but every now and then, while having a blast in a different city, it hits me: Milwaukee could totally do this. And so I blog.

My friend Tom Loftus runs an independent record label out of Minneapolis called Modern Radio (modern-radio.com) that, for as D.I.Y. and grassroots as it is, has an impressive number of active, serious and, most importantly, talented bands associated with it in one way, shape or form.

Two of said talented bands, Minneapolis's STNNNG (stnnng.com) and Signal To Trust (myspace.com/signaltotrust), recently released new albums, "Fake, Fake" and "Golden Armour" respectively, and this past weekend they collaborated in a massive event known locally and otherwise as simply, the Lunch Show.

Yes, it's basically what it sounds like: an all-ages show that kicks off at high noon to the tune of Bloody Marys, sloppy Joes, vegan green bean casserole, root beer floats and three hours of rock, all of which came for the ridiculous low price of $6.

For four years now, STNNNG has helped organize this rock 'n' roll luncheon and I'm not sure where it's been held in the past, but this year's was in the cozy confines of Minneapolis's 7th Street Entry. It was small enough to feel like a real party but large enough to accommodate the sold-out crowd of about 250 -- some of who came to support their friends, others who caught wind of the secret surprise opener: Shellac.

It was a win-win situation on all fronts. The bands sold a ton of merch, the fans left full-bellied and completely rocked and even Shellac, whose drummer Todd Trainer is from Minneapolis, got to wax nostalgic about their love for the venue and the city itself.

The equation is quite simple and Milwaukee definitely has the ingredients to make it happen: good bands (with friends who are willing to make a cake or whip up some quesadillas), a venue willing to accommodate (I'm thinking Mad Planet or Stonefly would be ideal) and most definitely, a tightly knit music community to support, promote and attend. It's just an idea. I don't have a band nor do I own a venue, but I'd certainly be willing to do my part on the media end of the spectrum if people here were into it. Thoughts?

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