Hellblinki - Press

Some of the main agitators in the quest to keep Cincinnati weird are the folks behind the Clovenhoof Theatre, a slanted arts organization that mixes cabaret, burlesque, surrealism and left-field music, currently presenting shows at its Central Parkway venue (in the old Mockbee building) that had people talking for weeks. Saturday the eccentric "theater group" brings Asheville, N.C., ensemble The Hellblinki Sextet for a night of peculiar Gypsy/Pirate/Cabaret music made all the weirder by performances from the beloved local Barnyard Burlesque troupe. Hellblinki founder - Andrew Benjamin - who told a reporter the group is best described as "Three Penny Opera meets Sesame Street, with guerilla operatics and a southern drawl" - fronts the black parade like a satanic ringleader, guiding the rotating cast (featuring violin, accordion, woodwnds, samples, toys empty bottles, etc.) with maniacal glee. If you love Tom Waits, Man Man, Dresden Dolls and Gogol Bordello, then The Hellblinki Sextet might well be on its way to becoming your new favorite band. And if you've been waiting for the right occasion to trip balls on absinthe, this one has "hallucinogenic fever dream" written all over it.