live, DEAF 2002 at the TBMC
Photos by Carolyn Moore

Uptown Racquet Club was a short-lived band comprising: Donnacha Costello
Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Electronics, Vocals
John Dermody
Drums
David Donohoe
Guitar, Electronics, Vocals
Stephen Quinn
Guitar, Electronics, General Wizardry

Named after a location in Woody Allen's Manhattan, it was formed by Donnacha Costello in Dublin in the Spring of 2002 to much acclaim and some ambivalence! The band's first gig was a benefit for the Adi Roche Chernobyl Children's Project in Whelan's where they played alongside Jack L, Juliet Turner and Brando amongst others. They then played in Spirit alongside The Notwist and The Redneck Manifesto. This gig sparked some significant interest in the band and they played a number of further shows over the course of the year, notably, The Wonky festival in the Guiness Storehouse, Paddy Goes Wonky at the Village and at the Galway Arts Festival where along with The Tycho Brahe and James Yorkston, they provided the live soundtrack to a Donal Dineen film.

The band completed two recording sessions towards an album release but sadly the material was never finished and the album was shelved. The band's only release was a track, Solitaire, on a compilation CD published by Homage magazine. The sound of the band is not easily pinned down but could probably lie somewhere within Post-Progressive Electronic Rock, if one is so genre-inclined! The idiosyncrasy of their sound came from the varying influences of the four members, each recording artists in their own right. The driving mechanical rhythm guitar of Costello, the whimsical folk-influenced guitar melodies of Donohoe, the pummeling onslaught of Dermody's drumming and the vast wall of texture and tone that was Quinn's guitar playing made an interesting cohesion.

Press:

Pathos laden, Relentless, Monumental
Kim Porcelli, Hot Press

First up was The Uptown Racquet Club. Their noodlings and stylings got things underway and they managed to be interesting without ever being fabulous. Dublin has far too many instrumental rock bands flogging their wares about town at the moment and, even though these guys have put a nice, unique little stamp on things, they never really take off completely. The problem is the lack of a singer. An instrumental band are only going to keep your attention for so long and unless they are especially good, which these guys weren't, then that's not gong to be a very long time.
Ken McGrath, sortedmagazine.com