The Monsters of Schlock which consists of performing brothers, The Great Orbax and Sweet Pepper Klopek, brought their extreme circus sideshow comedy magic extravaganza to The Observatory the evening of Tuesday Jan. 20.
They call themselves professional freaks. Their unusual talents deal mostly with inflicting pain upon each other and upon themselves. From hammering a nail into his nose to having a 37 pound cinder block smashed on his private parts, Orbax endured his fair share of pain on Tuesday night. But not as much as his brother Pepper, who set a new Guinness World Record for the most animal traps released on a body in one minute.
Twin brothers who were separated at birth and adopted by different families, it took Orbax and Pepper 25 years to find each other again. And when they did, they were surprised to find that they were both performing and entertaining people in a similar way. They have now been working together for nine years as the Monsters of Schlock.
The show started off with Stuart the clown coming onto the stage, which made some people uneasy. But before long, The Great Orbax emerged wearing a kilt and circus-styled shirt that matched his brother’s, and bringing with him intense energy and many jokes.
“Who’s ready to see something freaky tonight Ottawa?” Orbax asked the crowd.
Vivian An, a first-year early childhood education student certainly was. She had never attended a show like theirs before but her curiosity brought her there and she looked forward to seeing exactly what was going to happen.
What happened was a lot of laughs and a lot of cringe-worthy pain. A crowd favourite seemed to be the brothers’ new routine which combined a cooking show with a freak show. The routine involved cutting up vegetables by using the spinning blades of a fan, which Orbax later stuck his tongue into, and by using giant swords with each other’s bodies as cutting boards.
“I want him to make me dinner,” said Niki Provost, a baking and pastry arts students who claimed she fell in love with Pepper during the show.
Anticipation could be felt in the crowd as everyone watched Orbax and Pepper perform the most dangerous stunts you might ever see in a college bar.
Finally came the time for Sweet Pepper Klopek to try and set a new world record for the most animal traps released on a body in one minute. The record was previously held by Johnny Strange, a sideshow performer in England, with six traps in one minute.
“We’re not only hoping to beat that record, we’re hoping to openly obliterate that record,” Orbax said before the show.
They had 14 traps prepared, consisting of 12 racoon traps and two coyote traps, to abolish the record.
“I’m fucking scared, I don’t get scared that much but that makes me nervous,” Pepper said after the box of traps was opened.
Through the fear and pain Pepper managed to set a new world record of 13 traps in less than a minute surrounded by cheering and cringing Algonquin students.
The last act of the night involved Orbax getting his private parts completely crushed. The Great Orbax stripped off his kilt and after letting Pepper check to make sure he wasn’t wearing a cup or any protective gear, he sat on the stage with his legs spread apart and braced himself for what was to come.
The cinder block was placed between his legs then the clown grabbed a sledgehammer and swung down on the block smashing it to pieces right on top of Orbax’s junk. Cries of pain could be heard from not only Orbax himself but also from the males in the crowd watching and sympathizing with him.
The event wasn’t a sell-out but The Observatory was full. The Great Orbax himself commented on how it didn’t matter that there wasn’t a huge crowd watching because it’s better to have a smaller group who are enthusiastic and very into the show. The crowd eagerly participated whenever they could, they cheered for and encouraged Orbax and Pepper at every opportunity.
“What we’re doing tonight, ladies and gentlemen, we do out of sheer stupidity,” The Great Orbax warned the audience before the show started.