Riot on the Dance Floor (2014)
Director: Steve Tozzi
Country: USA
Genre: Documentary | Biography | Music
Official Site: Here
Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage of the North By Northeast Festival. For more information nxne.com and follow NXNE on Twitter at @nxne.
As children, we imagine a future where our dreams come true. We see our future selves on a foundation of ideals, embodying all that we could hope to become. These are images of adults that are fulfilled completely by an occupation that is directly in line with our greatest aspirations and favorite pastimes. However, as time passes most of us are forced to settle. The dreams we held so dear must face harsh reality, and the need to bring in a steady income often derails what we once yearned so dearly for. Riot on the Dance Floor is ultimately the profile of a man that attempted to balance his loves and the demands of a money hungry world, showing us just how oppressively that world can push back.
Riot on the Dance Floor is ultimately the profile of a man that attempted to balance his loves and the demands of a money hungry world, showing us just how oppressively that world can push back.
When thinking of a showcase for a multitude of growing music scenes in the 80s and 90s, few would immediately list Trenton, NJ as the ideal location. Even fewer would imagine that a former car shop would be the host to just such an emergence. But that is exactly what happened on the unsuspecting and somewhat unsafe Calhoun Street. The minimalist warehouse, stocked with secondhand sound equipment and rundown amenities played host to a range of music acts that would go on to become household names, from Bad Brains to Nirvana to Green Day. The iconic City Gardens was a breeding ground for emerging artists that were often unable to get booked anywhere else. Behind it all was a schlubby man child with bad teeth, a shock of receding red hair, and above all else, a deep and all-encompassing passion for music. By day, he was a lowly mailman, but by night, he was Randy Now, music promoter and unlikely facilitator of the underground music scene.
Riot on the Dance Floor on the surface is the story of City Gardens, how it came to be and what it was able to accomplish. However, throughout its runtime it carries with it another story with an emotional connection of closer proximity. It is the story of Randy Ellis and how he became Randy Now. It’s appropriate as City Gardens and Randy Now are two creations that cannot live independently. They are forever symbiotically connected, in need of the other to thrive. Assuredly City Gardens has the more interesting stories and a host of individuals are happy to recount as many as their remaining brain cells will allow, but Randy’s is the more complex and worthy of exploration. There have been plenty of music venues, and the film is more than willing to list those for you, but none of those other places had Randy, and that was the difference.
The excitement of the film’s director, Steve Tozzi, is palpable. While the camera remains steady, his vibrations of exuberance are constantly present as he sits down with a bevy of musicians that are more than happy to recount there beginnings in the sketchy nightclub. The many stories are interesting, and even for those that had never been to City Gardens, or until now were unaware of its very existence, they are certainly entertaining. However, they lack a cohesiveness and propelling forward momentum. Time is lost for much of the film down the drain of nostalgia, leaving the story of the growth of City Gardens perpetually in the dark. Taking the easy way of anecdotal history, the audience is left treading water, without a prevailing vision or message with which to guide them.
The excitement of the film’s director, Steve Tozzi, is palpable. While the camera remains steady, his vibrations of exuberance are constantly present as he sits down with a bevy of musicians that are more than happy to recount there beginnings in the sketchy nightclub.
Tozzi attempts to weave City Gardens’ and Randy’s stories together, but often becomes sidetracked by the sexier of the two. It is much more fun to listen to the tales of debauchery and outlandishness sanctioned by City Gardens. However, these sections come off as hollow, shiny exteriors with little inside. The emotional depth comes from Randy, and while it is impossible to not here is name mentioned with City Gardens, he only lingers on the outside edge. Randy defines uncool, yet that is what makes him so accessible. His mediocrity in life belies his creative success in his passion. This isn’t a man that made millions or lived a rock star life, but rather a guy that tried to turn his love into his profession. There is an inherent sadness that pervades all of the moments with the Randy of now. This is the story of a man that lived as close to his dream as he could, before it was snatched from his hands and changed into something different. These moments are the film’s greatest strengths, for they reflect the fear of so many dream chasers: that others will ruin what you always longed for. We hope to ride the highs of Randy Now, but deep down it is the fears of Randy Ellis’ lows that keep us on the safer path.
While the multitude of nostalgic musician stories amount to extended wheel spinning narratively, at the very least Tozzi captures them well. He fuses the archival footage, photographs, and modern retellings in a manner that is captivating. You are transported to the grungy City Gardens and come as close to living in the pit as the present allows. Nevertheless, the greatest trouble with nostalgia is that is leaves you reminiscing for a time that is completely gone, and this is the film’s downfall. The film ultimately feels incomplete and a bit trivial in its exploration of City Gardens’ past. Riot on the Dance Floor hints at a greater and more emotionally complex story in its flitting with Randy, however it falters before fully exploring this territory. It is disappointing as these segments hint at a much greater film chronicling the struggles of realizing your dreams. Instead we are only left with another in a long line of ruminations on how everything was so much better yesterday.
Riot on the Dance Floor hints at a greater and more emotionally complex story in its flitting with Randy, however it falters before fully exploring this territory. It is disappointing as these segments hint at a much greater film chronicling the struggles of realizing your dreams. Instead we are only left with another in a long line of ruminations on how everything was so much better yesterday.
