Kevin Bronson on April 13th, 2014

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Who: Unlocking the Truth on the Main Stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: Uncanny recess rocking
Memorable Because: They shred like Sabbath. They rock harder than Axl Rose. They can out-punk The Sex Pistols. They’re Unlocking the Truth and they’re in the sixth grade. It wasn’t a mirage – the trio of Flatbush wunderkinds plucked from the NYC busking circuit overpowered an ever-growing mass of moshing festival-goers with the heaviest metal in Indio this side of Motörhead. Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins and Alec Atkins can play their instruments better than most other bands on the bill and they’re still six years away from entering Coachella campgrounds without a legal guardian. Denied an encore after a thrashing 30-minute set, the pre-teen virtuosos entered the crowd where they were held aloft like people’s champions home from war. (Or perhaps child sacrifices presented to the sun in exchange for protection from the winds.) Of all the extranormal sights and sounds at Coachella, this may have been the most astonishing. The truth is out there.
What I’d Tell My Friend Who Was at Syd Arthur: Pink Floyd by way of Spinal Tap? It’s a joke band, right? Isn’t it? Oh dear.
– Words and photos by Ben “Mouse” McShane
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