Gig Reviews

Do you remember the first time you met Carl Riseley?

Or, the first photo you took with him, the first time you experienced his talent live?

We want to hear about the experiences.


I know that personally, I enjoy reading back over the reviews that I, and everyone else has written about the gigs they've attended in the past, but as is the way forums work, the posts often get lost amongst our chitter chatter conveying the excitement of upcoming shows, and the happiness after we've experienced them.

So, here's a place for you to come just to read those reviews. Please keep on posting them in the state threads, that's where they belong, but this is merely just a straight walk down memory lane for us all.

“It’s A Date”, Brisbane City Hall, QLD – 21st March 2008 – Monetgo’s review.

Just came back from Carl's gala concert, it was awesome, Carl is awesome and i had a goosebumps when he sang "This Guy's In Love with You' because that was the song that i suggested to him to sing at idol, i didn't realize he includes it in his coming album, i was and still is very very ecstatic, thank you very much Carl for included that song in your album, you are such an angel, i took lots of photos guys and a video but not very sure yet how to put it here i need my daughters' help but at the moment she's with her cousins house for sleepover, i was a bit disappointed though that i wasn't able to catch up with Carl after the show and to have photos with him but we waited for a while outside but no sign of him, i met Laceyface though, by the way nice meeting you lacey, i left before lacey because my brother in law still has to go to work, and i don't know if lacey was able to meet carl, i hope she does, i asked the staff at city hall but they said Carl might left the building already right after his gig, because after him there's still one more finale song from the Australian Army Band, he might left during the last number, the Alaskan (US Airforce) Brass were awesome as well, but Carl was the best of course....sooooo good to see Carl, and i will put the photos here as soon as i can.


Castle Towers Instore, NSW – 26th April 2008 – Traxlmaz’s review

I got to Castle Towers just before 11am and Carl took the stage a short time after. Carl performed 'This man's in love' 'Girl from Ipanema' and 'Lets fall in love' which he also did a faster version of lol. He was then interviewed for a while about how he came to audition for Aus Idol and etc.

It was now finally time to meet the man himself!!! it was my turn so I went up to see Carl, I asked him when he finished the album and told him that it was great to finally have his album out to buy to which he replied 'I know I can't believe it myself it seems to sureal' he later told me that he finished the album in January 08 and that it was great to finally have it out for everyone to hear. I also told him that I will see him at the Rooty Hill show in June and he said 'great see you then, I can't wait' then we took pics together and I left with the great memories of the day.

Carl is the sweetest and most genuine guy I have ever met and I can't wait to see him live! I have listened to the album over and over again and it's safe to say Australia has now found it's very own Swing King!!


Borders at Highpoint, Victoria – 27th April 2008 – Yvonne’s review

I was at Highpoint yesterday- I live near there. Stick Marebo ( I guess that is the spelling), from Mix 101.1FM was the host, nice guy and all, but he didn't know that Carl had served in the Navy. Boo to not knowing that piece of information.

My mother came along to meet Carl too, she has never ever done that for anyone ever before. Not that I am aware of anyway. She was entranced and she went up and spoke to him- she couldn't stop raving afterwards about what a lovely young man he is and how he will go far in the music industry etc. It is so true, he is so polite, humble, charming and of course so extremely talented. He signed my cd and I told him I had already had it since Friday and that it was lovely and he should be proud.

Think I have convinced her(mum) that Anthony is not the only idol ( as much as I love Anthony too) although she loves Shannon, Damien and Natalie too.

We met a very nice security guard who spoke to us, about what a lovely afternoon it is and what a pleasure to be able to hear such beautiful music and what timeless classic songs are on the cd.

There was another security guard there, he couldn't crack a smile at all for anyone, god help us man, yesterday was the easiest job you will ever have to do in your life as a sec guard, us ladies, gents and children were all completely civilised ( as if any of Carl's fans would be otherwise), no troubles caused, we were all there just to see Carl and what a true pleasure it was.


Thankyou to the staff at Borders Highpoint- (I do feel a bit naughty not having purchased my cd there, but as soon as I saw that girl with the Sanity bag on Friday afternoon,and realised that they were open, well there was no stopping me from going to have a peek and see if his cd was already there), I paid more than their asking price was at Borders yesterday, but do I really care- nope.


Warringah Mall, NSW – May 10th 2008 – Traxlmaz’s review

Yes it was great to meet Carl for the second time and he kind of remembered me too! especially when I told him that I also met him at Castle Towers a few weeks ago, he said "oh I remember your the tall girl umm is your name something like 'Anne'? I said close it's Marianne lol! aww bless him I can't believe that he even remembered that.

There was a pretty good crowd not as many as at Castle Towers but because it was in Arena Cove which is also Warringah Mall's food court there were alot of people sitting around having lunch and as Carl said 'you get to have lunch while enjoying great jazz music' that's so right.

Carl performed about 4 songs before the signing they were 'let's fall in love' girl from Ipanema' 'This guys in love with you' also a faster version of this song and another one which I can't remember at the moment.


The Gov, SA – 28th May 2008 – Ambercat’s review

Well, we just got back home from one of the best nights ever!!!!!!! ohmygosh...Carl was simply AWESOME on stage tonight!!!! He got a standing ovation at the end, then when they finished and went off, the crowd was making so much noise and refused to go home, so they came back on stage again, then they went off and again the crowd wouldnt budge and were going crazy so Carl came back out by himself for one last song!!!! Oh wow...honestly, you guys who have shows to look forward to REALLy have something to look forward to!!! Carl was witty, funny, chatty and just such a great showman...he had the audience in stitches of laughter all the way through!!!! And the SONGS!!!!!!!!!! I am speechless really as to how good he was... he had a couple of shaky starts and I'm sure he almost forgot the words for one song, but honestly he sounded so good and hit every note...even those really high ones in The Letter!!!!! There were some really funny moments...like his microphone stand that kept on sliding down....his trumpet got stuck in its base.... he made everything so much fun and it was such an amazing night!!! There is just too much to write down here as I'm sooooo tired,but soooo happy!!!!! And WE MET CARL!!!!!!!!!! It was only a short meeting as there were so many people queued up to meet him, but we made the most of it and as soon as Carl heard my name, he jumped out of his seat and gave me a huge hug and said Oh honey! It's so good to meet you!!! I was totally dumbstruck of course and forgot everything I meant to say to him and ask him...he must have thought I was a real dummy!!! I knew that would happen!!!! But he was sooo cute and told us how nervous he was for his very first show ever but we said he'd done a fantastic show and everyone else agreed around us!!! Oh he was so wonderful!!!!!!! I'm just going to post the pic of me, mum and Carl then head happily off to bed!! My other photos are lousy...the camera is no good in the dark!!! I will have a look at them tomorrow and post what I can, but they really are crap unfortunately... Carl even came down into the crowd and got the drummers mum up to dance with him!!!! It was hilarious!!!!!!

And hey...I didnt meet up with anyone from the forum here!!! Where were you guys??? We were standing in the queue just near the ticket office (thats another nightmare story!!!! We were held up there while everyone else was going in, even tho we'd been in the queue for half an hour waiting!!!! grrrrrr...not happy jan!!!) But hey...I'm so sorry we missed you guys... I thought you'd be easy to spot snowy with your purple dress!!!! I forgot to say that I'd had my hair done and I've dark blonde...not blonde blonde any more...maybe you guys were looking for the two glamorous blondes I described us as before here!!! ;) anyway.... other than that it was such a super night!!! I'll write more tomorrow!! Looking forward to hearing about the other Adelaide fans thoughts here!!! And my mum was having soooo much fun as well!! She was singing along and clapping and having the best time!!!!


The Gov, SA – 28th May 2008 – Snowysilverwolf’s review

Anyway...my lot all thoroughly enjoyed the night.
I really loved the way he teased us all at the opening song, by staying off-stage for the song's intro. Very cheeky!
And as much as I loved the songs he did from the album, I really loved the other songs he sang for us too. Especially 'Till There Was You', and 'On The Street Where You Live'.

As Boo said, I caught up with her [actually she came up to where we were sitting and asked me if we were on the forums] and then we caught up again in the line waiting for our chance to talk to Carl.
We actually didn't go down and line up until quite late...the pregnant one didn't much want to stand up for any length of time. So I guess that's why we missed you Amby.

We asked Carl if he would please make an effort to come back and play at the Gov again sometime soon, and naturally he said he'd love to!

All up it was an absolutely fabulous night!
Yes, it was clear that he was as nervous as h*ll, but he seemed to relax as the night went on.
He was suave, funny, and totally entertaining.
I loved his story about how he had planned that little speech to blackmail us into giving him a standing ovation! So funny! and totally unnecessary!!!

All I really have left to say on the matter is...Thanks to Carl and the band for a great show...and bring on his next gig at the Gov!!

Bennetts Lane, VIC – 30th May 2008 – Floss’ review

Well guys I am still coming back down to earth. What a wonderful venue for this gig. Being totally selfish of course the place is tiny. Probably can only hold around 100-150 people so the whole thing is so intimate. Carl was only about a metre and a half away from where we were sitting the whole show. It was Carl heaven.

Carl was just so funny, really Idol did not do him justice, he can be so funny had the audience in the palm of his hand. No it was not just us girls there were guys there as well. Added bonus John Foreman was in the audience and came up on stage and played a couple of numbers with Carl.

Had pictures just need to work out how to upload them.

Best of all have finally converted hubby now, he was very impressed with Carl. He is unique.
Near the end of the show, he got a couple of girls up on stage and they were dancing away it was marvelous, wish I had tickets for tonight and tomorrow now.


The Troubadour, QLD – 4th June 2008 – Monetgo’s review

As we were heading inside we saw that anyone can seat anywhere and all the chairs and tables are line up to the wall on both sides leaving a very big space in the middle like a dancefloor so we took our seat and waited for the rest of the crowd to come in while waiting i took a picture of the stage....
People keep coming until no spare seats to be found so the crowd started to seat on the dancefloor and waiting patiently for the show to start...
until Ashley came out on the stage and announced that everyone sitting on the floor have to stand up and move forward to the stage 'cause there are still heaps of people on the stairs and outside waiting to come in, so it's "bumper to bumper" guys, it's fully loaded indeed! I felt sorry for the 'young at heart' who were seating already and when the crowd started to stood up all they can see are the backs of the people (also us), so i had to stood on my chair (no choice) for the whole show. The grannies just had to sit down and listen to Carl singing without seeing him but from time to time they stood up especially when Carl sang Moon River, Tenderly and All of Me, but they can't remain standing up for the whole show you know. It's good there's an intermission. I think Carl and the gang thought only few will come as it's on a weeknight, Carl even thank the crowd and said he didn't expect such huge crowd on a weeknight, but see they chose the venue at the valley, everyone knows Fortitude Valley never sleeps any day of the week. There's even these 2 tourists who passed by and asked what's going on why so big a crowd and one person there told them that Carl is performing upstairs, they apologised for not knowing Carl as they are tourists but they were still very eager to know him and asked what genre of songs Carl's playing and when the lady said it's Jazz they decided to wait on the line but was turned away by the doorman 'cause it's fully booked. They should do 2 nights, but anyway there's always lessons to be learn.
So while waiting, my sis n law wanted to go to the loo and thinking i might bump into Carl on the way as i noticed the band members keep going in and out of that direction i grabbed the note that i made and promised to Goldie that if ever i can't talk to Carl for long at least i have this note explaining why Goldie can't come and how much she really wanted to meet Carl etc etc...so on the way to the loo located at the back of the stage i ask my sis n law to take a photo of me where the stage is the background and holding the note in my hand.....and guess what? I passed Carl's dressing room, fully opened and he was there fixing his shirt and try to button them and i stopped and looked at him and he looked at me while trying to put on his tie, and nothing comes out from my mouth (i was sick too i don't have a voice only the first and the last syllable of every word i utter are comprehensible well Goldie can vouch that as i was talking to her the other night and my voice was like a man) i tried to tell him that i was from the forum and he said 'oh yeah' as if he already knows someone from the forum is going to see him and i told him that i have a note for him explaining why Goldie can't come and if he could read it before the show starts and he took it and said yes together with a nod and at the same time trying to put his tie on, and why on earth no one is there helping him, i would love to you know, but then some band members just came rushing in to his room and that's it they closed the door behind...i hope he reads it i really do, and i put Golds number there as well hoping he will give Golds a call! He was so handsome, so innocent, at the same time you can tell the tension and the pressure he's into...but he's so frail without those coat...he needs a vacation so badly after these tours, you know.....well...who wants to come?

Carl sang while still at the back, you can hear him but you can't see him yet...then he came out....and the crowd just roared...his first song was 'Let's Fall In Love', and here he is....sorry about the quality of the photos guys....after the first song he welcomed everyone and said, 'oh you are so close to me, i'm scared now' - because the people at the front was just like a ruler away from him. His next song was Reminiscing.....and here he is....Carl was so happy he's been jumping up and down so much i never saw him doing that that much...he said he was so happy because his dad and the rest of the relatives where there, when he called out for them 'where are my relatives here?' and they just roared wildly...it really is party time for him....only a family can let him do such enthusiasm last night!
Actually i was so surprised last night that the young crowds outnumbered the 'young at heart' crowds, there's just so many teenagers, and when Carl started to sing The Letter, the young ones went wild and the dancefloor was never the same again, the young at heart seems to enjoy watching them do their thing thoughAnother Carl's guest is the guy at his back doing the guitar, they also do a number together with Carl singing and him playing the guitar....he is with Carl during their Affirmation band time together here in QLD. Damn forgot his name.
Okay so the ending is near, the guys had their 'supposedly' last song, but as usual and expected, the crowd started chanting 'encore, encore, encore...', so Carl had to go back and sang his last song for the night, then Ashley announced that Carl will just have a glass of water then he will come out to sign CDs and have photo with him....mind you i was the first on the line, but i let the young girl next to me go ahead as i still get the five booklets from my bag, when carl saw them he said wow that's many and i said, oh it will be sent overseas carl, and he said oh you're going overseas? and i said oh no not me just your CDs (damn this voice of mine it's cutting off i tell ya) and he said oh thank you so much...but before that i told him i was on the chatline that night and from the forum and he asked my name and when i told him he said 'oh yeah' and i said i was the one who requested the x'mas album and he remembered and laughed and that 'oh yeah' of him again, i got a lot of those that night from him, i also told him a little bit 'bout goldie but see i can't really talk to him that much because i can feel the 'green-eyes' piercing at my back plus those heels seems wants to kick me and to give them the way, that's the disadvantage of being the first on the line as you have to be in a hurry especially when i see the snaking long line at my back, plus i can feel and see that Carl's mind are very much occupied by a lot of things he probably wants to get it done soon and be with his relatives who travel a long way to see him that night i would.


Rooty Hill RSL, NSW – 6th June 2008 – Jodie’s review

So last night I made the trek (well 15 minute drive...) to Rooty hill RSL to see Carl, and he didn't disappoint.


It was a rather tiny venue, seated about 200 at the most I'd say, but he said it was the biggest venue on the tour??

He performed much the same set list as i'd seen from the other shows, and was quite hilarious on stage.


I absolutly loved the sped up version of Thats All - I wish I had of video taped it, I listened to Buble's slower version today, and I just wanted it to kick off.

Got to meet him again too. He proclaimed 'I know you!!! I've met you before' when he saw me, and we chatted about Monday, the Basement shows, Rooty Hill. Elise told him it was my birthday in a few days (the ticket was part of the present from my parents), so he signed the ticket "Happy b'day in 10 days Love Carl" took a guess it was 10 days...and got it right...

I didn't get to take many photos, and the ones I got were dodgy as it was rather dark where I was seated. But I got a photo with him, and i got a video of Til There Was You, which I had ripped to audio, and i'll put the link up to download it as soon as I can be bothered to open my other laptop to get the link off.

All in all it was a great night - andI can't wait till the jazz fest on Monday...


Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival, NSW – 9th June 2008 – Jodie’s review

So today, myself and Elise went to the Jazz and Blues festival in Tumbalong park.

Carl performed with the Royal Aust. Navy band.

He was the last "Special guest" the first to ladies were amazing, and Carl did not disappoint.

He performed a song I can't remember the name of, Lets Fall In Love, On The Street Where You Live (he did his little idol audition thing first), Lido Shuffle, This Guys In Love, That's All (in double time), and I THINK thats it lol.


He asked if anyone went to the BAsement, and my friends pointed at me and I said "I had tickets, but couldn't go!" and he heard me and responded with Oh..."we'll meet up after this then" (I was more than willing!) and before On THe Street Where You Live I said to Elise "OH its the audition song" and he was like "Ha thanks!" so he has bionic ears as well as psychic abilities lol.

I took videos of his reenactment of his audition, his trumpet playing in This Guys In Love and the whole of That's All.

Met him again, he was lovely as always. Thanked me for coming out, spelt my name wrong (IE not Y) but he somehow turned that Y Into an IE lol, and said he would come back to Sydney soon.

We got absolutly saturated, it BUCKETED down, and of course the only shelter was ON the stage, and I don't think they'd appreciate stage crashers lol, but we braved it, and Carl made the sunshine come out cos it was sunny byt he time he finished.

It was unreal to hear him with a full backing band. Vladimer his keyboardist is actually in the Navy Band as well (Did anyone else think he looked like Will Ferrell????)


Westfield Westlakes, SA – 17th July 2008 – Ambercat’s review

We had such a nice chat with Carl today!!! Firstly, we asked him when he was going to go to Perth... and he said he was so sorry he couldnt get over there but with the airfares for him and his band it was just going to be too expensive....but, he has a corporate gig to go to in a couple of months and while they are there, they are going to see if they can do some club shows as well... I don't know if definite dates have been organised, but it sounds hopeful!!!

We asked about the next album. Apparently Ralph Carr is pushing to get another album out before Xmas. I asked if he was writing some songs and how he was going with it and he said it was going really well and sounded so happy and keen about it!!!! He is writing songs with Ashley Lewis, his trombone player and mate... I think one of the songs is called 'Seven' but I can't remember the name of the other one... He said there would be around 4 original songs on the next album!!! woohooo!!!! Good onya Carl!!!

Mum asked if he was living in Melbourne now and he said yes... and he really likes it there as he's close to his management and also John Foreman lives there and it's handy for working and arranging music and they are good mates.... Carl, John and a mate went to the movies the other day and saw Get Smart... he wants to go and see Dark Knight as well...and Hancock.. He obviously loves the movies!!! But he said he misses his mates a lot in Sydney....

Oh and another exciting thing for him!!!! He is going to Los Angeles for a couple of weeks to write songs with someone...not sure who!!! But how cool is that!!! I think he said he's going next week? Cant remember exactly...

Ummm...lets see, what else can I remember? Just before he went onstage today, they had little kids singing songs karaoke style and they had cds made out of them and had pics taken...Rock Star for a Day it was called. Carl asked me if I'd get on stage and sing and he'd watch me!!!! ahahaa!! ummm....no!!!! He said he'd judge me and maybe I'd get a touchdown!!! heehee!!!! Asked if he was going to watch Idol this year and he said Oh yeah!!!

ok...can't remember any more at the moment..if I do, I'll come back and post it!!! It's been such a fantastic day!!!!!!! I'll post the videos soon...Carl played Baa Baa Black Sheep and the Chicken Dance for the kids!!! Soooo cute!!!!! (see our pics in the post above this one!!)




Fairfield RSL, NSW – 20th September 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review

we left home (me, mum and kris) at 4pm and proceeded on our supossabley 1 hr 14min drive only to get lost in actual fairfeild we must have circled the same place 4 times before we worked out how to get to the other side of the bridge where we should have been, this included excellent driving skills on my behalf such as 2 lane turns at traffic lights and u-turns across double lines, not to mention cutting through and old petrol station to beat the lights hehe.

anyway we finally got there at 6.05pm and there was a red carpet waiting for us at the front door plus a limo carpark shuttle bus (very posh) we walked inside to a poster of carl riseley mmmmm we were in love, the girl asked us for our id and asked where we were from and said no doubt you guys are here for the carl concert love the shirts you must be like he's biggest fans and we were like yes we are.

we then were going to go and have dinner but apparently in this posh place you need to make reservations at the resturants in advance so we settled for counter snacks of chips, wedges and chicken tenderloins.

then me and kris went for a walk to the ladies which was beautiful, nice aromic smells and funky hand basins where the water runs behind the wall on a slope. there was also complimentry hand cream ( very swank).

as i wandered back to where we were sitting i noticed they had real one armed bandits (old school pokies ) i was so excited by that but we were out of time to play them.

we started upstairs and waited for the doors to open pushing in in the process and were the first ones through the door all the staff were majorly friendly towards us as they could tell we were die hard fans, we gave her our tickets and she took us to our table which was litteraly spitting distance fronm the stage. ( if carl would have shaked he's head we would have coped the sweat we were that close .) unfortunately though a table seperated me kris mum and jodes from elise but it evened up the sound of the screams i suppose so they probley planned that before hand to seperate us. whilst up there mum pulls out a pair of panties that she was gonna fling up on the stage if he sang it's not unusual

anyway carl came on and well what can i say i was in love yet again.
he started singing gotta get you into my life, then reminiscing and finally he wasn't sick when he sang it waahoo (although he looked really tired) then he had a bit of a chat thanking us all for coming and he mentioned all the sings ( well the 3 signs the 2 we had and the one that these 2 cute little girls made ) he said he felt like it ws back in the idol days hehe he's so cute :)

then he proceeded to sing this guys in love with you well i was floating and whilst he was singing it and i was writing down the set list i wrote this guys in love with amanda, kris, jodes, mum and elise i was litterally left with chills and i could also feel tears welling up but i maintained my composure.

next they done and instrumental of feel so good which featured he's best friend from high school and possibley primary school aaron west ( which he sort of said they done everything together including kissing there first girlfriends together i was kinda wondering if it was the same girl the way he said it ) anyway that was awesome

next they started singing does anybody really know what time it is to which i wrote on a peice of paper 9.05pm and held it up and kris was like if he see's that it will put him off but i was so hyper i held it up anyway then jodes told me it is now 9.06pm so i crossed out th 5 and put a 6 there.

last song of the first set LIDO SHUFFLE i love this song and so wanted to get up and have a dance but i just bounced at the table. i was so bloody hot and i was even threatning to strip by this stage.

anyway they all went back stage for an interemission and this big screen came down and i said (carl though moments were private ) but it was only for the RSL advertising.

screen up out comes carl waahoo he asked how we have been likeing the show (stupid question really) he started singing let the good times roll, then lets fall in love, smooth operator and don't get around much anymore. all really great and i loved them. then he told us he is now going to sing one of he's new originals written by ashley lewis and some guy in LA i forget the name but he said it will be on the next album and it's called no body to find ( a very slow song but very heart filled ) it was great.

next he sang a song called i can't stop loving you then at the end of it he told us about a funny school story involving him and aaron west aparently in year 11 in there music class all they had to do was show up and they got A's as there teacher loved them becasue he knew that thay were above average musiciains but then in year 12 they got a nw teacher and they thought it would be funny to pretend they knew nothing about music anyway this teacher told them to write a composisiton revealing and emotion so for carl's composisition he pretty much just strumed the guitar and said ( i'm all alone ) which was basically he's composition for loliness to hwich she said that was good but maybe work on some chord changes then aaron had he's go and he just done 3 chord changes and no emotion. basically she hated them both and they failed that task and they had to work really hard from then as she hated them both.

he continued on with what he says is he's favourite romantic ballad called my funny valentine he played the trumpet and i litterally got chills he done it so well.

then he sung the letter well i was bouncing yet again i love that song and when you here it live with all the brass my god chill worthy yet again. loved it

he then siad he was to the last song of the night and he started to sing thats all to where this slightly slow lady ( without being cruel) wanted to get up and dance on stage with carl so he let her up and she was jumping all over the place carl had to move the trumpets a number of times out of the way but he was being entirely professional letting her have her dance with him which i think she was so greatful for anyway this is where carl jumped off the stage and asked miss Elise to dance well knock me over with a stick how excited was i for her i mean yes there was some jealousy there but it was great that he picked a forum girl to dance with poor darling was so embarressed but us screaming for her that was probley one of the highlights of the night for me.

any way he said thanks for coming etc and ashley said i think they want one more carl so they done the highway to hell by ACDC by in a jazz style it was amazing and i hope that goes on the next album.

after the show there was a lady on the table next to us who seen jodes looking at the scrapbook earlier and asked if she would be able to have a look as she's into scrapbooking she loved it and said he is so lucky to have fans like us and also asked about goldie and who she was because of the RIP bit in the back and i explained how she created this forum and passed away, she was saddened by that stateing that she looked quite young in the photo. anyway she said all the best and she's glad we enjoyed the show as she did also.

then we went and lined up for out photo's and signings we got there and he was like "hello you guys so glad you made it and he had the biggest smile you could imagine we gave him he's scrapbook and he's clinkers and his face was priceless he was so appreciateive anyway time for photo's waahoo my mum got a kiss this time but i didnt but he knows i'm coming to the vanguard on thursday night and apparently he's managemet people will be at that show so he has to nail it. anyway he signed my photo and asked me what do i actually prefer amanda-renee or just amanda and i said either as long as you write it. he just smiled while i melted . anyway mum told him when it was her photo about the fact he missed out he said why is that and she said had you have sung tom jones i would have thrown some panties on the stage ( i'm in the background nearly about to die from embarressment) and he's like you should have how funny would that have been ( i reckon he was thinking thank good you didn't how embarressed would i be)

anyway then we got our forum group photo and by this stage the girls behind us were getting impatient but he was so happy to get ius all together.
he said he will see us on thursday and we left.

down stairs we went up to the girl on the front desk and kris asked what they do with the posters throughout the club and she took our numbers and said she would ask there promotions manager if we can have them so fingers crossed that we are allowed to

all in all an excellent night i am so happy and i hope carl finds the time to come online and tell us what he thought about the scrapbook.


The Vanguard, NSW – 25th September 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

so we left at 4.30pm got to kfc engadine by 5.15pm watched music max in the store and culture cub do you relly want to hurt me was on. WAAHOO!!! got in the car and headed for newtown.

on the way mum decided she needed a toilet in the middle of newtown plus we couldn't see the venue anywhere. next thing you know we are in sydney city.

we found central station but no parking so we told mum to get out and do a runner we will cirle the block and come back for her. as she got out though there was a rise in the road and she fell over and hit her hip, elbow and finger. i was in a no parking zone but had the hazards on, and asked her if she was ok she said yeah she'll be fine.

me and kris tried to circle the bloke which turned out to be harder then expected as ther was heaps of no left turn signs and one way streets next thing you know we end up in surray hills we kept ringing mum to tell her to stay still and we will find our way back but then her phone went dead AHHHH, we asked a couple of taxi drivers and random people and finally found our way back to the train station found a park and got out and started looking for her.

we finally found her all shaken up and teary as she has never been in sydney city on her own and by not having a phone for contact she didn't know what to do. we grabbed her and went back to the car.

anyway we finally decided to use the navman which we should have probley done all along and found that we were only about 8 streets from the vanguard.

anyway after circling to find some parking we finally got to the venue at 8.30pm ( 4hrs after we left my house for what was supposably a 1hr 14 min drive hehe)
got in the door and found out that genral addmission was on the mezzinine level 1 level up AHHHHH could we be any further away from our man.

anyway just as we were getting conmfortble the support act came on and made us feel uncomfortable again he had the most mono tone voice i had ever heard so we decided to look around instead anyway a voice was faint but destictly carl's so i followed it to the back of the ballcony and sure as bells it was carl on he's way up the mezzinine steps to get to the upstairs employee's only gangway to the dressing room, i shot into full paparatzzi mode and got a pic of him and ash through the window hole for the stairs he goes "oh hello" the night had finally started.

the gig finally got underway at 10pm which had the same set list and same jokes as fairfield but we loved it anyway and also found out that alex's name is indeed bottom haha.

during the interval we made friends with these random guys sitting behind us possibly between 30 and 40 and he said don't you think you are like stalkers and i said no we are he's groupies he asked if Carl even knew who we were and we went hell yeah and i'm sure they wern't convinced

anyway the gig ended and carl came up to the signing table ( we were actually first in line but purposly stayed till last to get more time with him)

anyway as he came down the stairs he said hello girls glad you came with this big smile and then he proceeded to sign cd's luckily there wasn't as long wait for our turn this time.

our turn WAAHOO he gave Kris a kiss first, then me ( i'm quite emarressed now and honestly didn't know it at the time but i flung my arms around he's neck and conected a lip peck ) ahhhh so embarressed and then he gave mum a kiss and then proceeded to tell us we smelt great. ahhhh

we had a chat about the show and then got him to sign the newest poster pics they have for promotions etc he told us he loved that shot as do we SIGH*** and he said wow these have my Bulli dates on it are you coming? and did the hotel give these to you to which i replied no Zoe sent them to me to hang up to get people to come to your gig and he's like your a dead set legend.

anyway with mine, kris's and AMBERCATS poster signed with love (we got you one and he thinks the world of you, we told him we can't wait to meet you and he was like havn't you met her yet i thought you must have known each other personally and i said no only through you and he said she's really nice)

then we asked if we could have a pre-planned photo where me and kris kiss a cheek each and he was like yeah sure do you know this has never happened yet haha anyway during this my camera decided to go scitzz and not take photo's so we had about 6 reshoots until we finally got the boys that were behind us to take a good shot on kris's camera and one of the guys say "you know they are doing this on purpous and he goes yeah i know that haha but it ddn't seem to phase him at all"

he said ok amanda i better go mingle and held me on the shoulder and i said i'll see you tomorrow night and he said for sure can't wait should be fun.

we came home in record time of 1hr exactly no city stops haha and got in the door at roughly 1.50am

venue 2 out of 10
parking 1 out of 10
lighting 2 out of 10
support act 2 out of 10
gig 9 out of 10
ending the night part or a carl sandwhich priceless 10 out of 10

The Vanguard, NSW – 25th September 2008 – Kris’ review.

I must say, I was less than impressed with the venue. It was small, cramped and we didn't get the best photos, but it was great to be able to stand up - I even danced a little! Carl was fantastic as always. No words to describe how far our Man has come. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU CARL!!

Carl was as charming as always and we waited patiently as possible for him to get to us. He looked excited to see us but I couldn't hide my shyness once again. LOL

Anyhoo, the guys that had been sitting behind us all night turned from friendly to drunk gropers! I was standing right next to Carl and this dude decides to rub up against me and send me flying into him! I stepped on Carl's foot and knocked him a bit but he didn't mind, just gave the guy a look. Then the groper put his hands on my hips and I shuffled closer to Honey Man. There's nothing worse than a drunk groper in a club!

Suddenly, Amanda asked for a shot of the two of us kissing Carl on the cheek and in my mind I was saying, Woo hoo!!
Our lips were pursed and pressed and the camera issues raised it's ugly head! We were in position for what seemed like an eternity! In the end I just looked at Carl, smiled and said, "Are you ok? LOL I'll just smile."
And Amanda goes, "Nah I'm kissing him!!" LMAO I had so much fun.

Amanda, I hope your mum is ok! It's a wonder we don't know Sydney like the back of our hands after all that! Perfect driving on your behalf ;)



Bulli Heritage Hotel, NSW - 26th September 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

ok so the venue was quaint and there was all of 40 people there but it was so great, the gig was pretty much the same but he threw in why not take all of me? and asked if anyone wanted to dance with him unfortunatly even with beeries in me i was to shy to jump up and say yes, so who got up instead mum HOORAY MUM. anyway after the gig we went to get our cd's etc signed and there were some ladies there who forgot their camera so me and paparazzi kris took a picture of these ladies and got their email address to send the picture to them next there was another lady who wanted to purchase a cd but the lady had already left so i got her name and details and said i would get it signed tomorrow night for her at penrith and send it through the mail for her ( i told carl i should be put on the payroll) next it was our turn and we got the bigest hugs yet again it was fantastic and we talked to him about idol, and he was drinking CARLUA and coke hehe he told us we should try it but i dont drink coke great night and he can't wait to see us tomorrow night.


Penrith RSL, NSW – 27th September 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

yeah i went to reception and told them that i had won 3 tickets and they are under amanda-renee shepherd and the chick had a look through the tickets and said there's nothing here what competition did you win them through and i said on he's official website carlriseley.com anyway she ended up ringing the clubs promotions manager and she came out i then explained the same story to her and i said have the got a doorlist then mayby we are on that so she then went and got carl's roadie i think he's name is mark and he came out and seen us streight away and said yeah Amanda-renee and co are fine their on our list hehe, he said is the third person here yet meaning jodie and i said no not yet but she's on her way and he said yeah when you line up and get to the door just say your name and i'm on the ddorlist. so it all worked out.

last night was awesome yet again venue was easy to get to but the lighting was still poor and there were a couple of holdens in the crowd but i believe them to be people with little man syndrome because carl was awesome loved every minuet of it yet again.

same line up of songs. but aaron west done a awesome version of happy birthday to whuich one of the hecklers yelled out Carl who? i was so annoyed.

anyway at the end we hung around yet again to get pictures and give Carl he's CARLUHA and coke present he was so happy yet again. also i got him to sign that calander that kris made me for christmas and he showed he's roadie friend and said look a calender awesome. he asked me what i wanted him to write on it and i said how about happy birthday, christamas , new year la da dah see he wrote happy everything lots of love carl. AWEEEE. we got our group photo and then left once again feeling excited we got to see him. one more gig to go for me and i am very sad cause i know this will be the last time i see him in a while.
amanda-renee

VENUE 8 - 10
PARKING 10-10
LIGHTING - 6 - 10
CROWD 7 - 10
PERFORMANCE - 10-10
CARL- 10 – 10



Brass Monkey, NSW – 28th September 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

got there in record time WAAHOO!!! found a parking space WAAHOO!! found the place and said i was on the guest list and they found my name WAAHOO!!! went downstairs and it was a small little dive of a place with ripped chairs etc. but we were close to the stage.
anyway come 8.30pmish they start straggling in 1 by 1 and come 9pm ashley lewis was nowhere in sight anyway aaron the drummer came and sat next to me at the bar table we were at and i was chating to him and this is where i found out the Alex comes from Refdern anyway i asked what time they were starting and he said he's not sure as ashley is still on a plane coming from the goldcoast as he had privious comittments anyway 9.15pm and the show must go on so mark the saxaphone player started them off and instead of the tromobone solo they did a saxaphone solo any out came carl and i was overcome with this feeling of sadness and started tearing up as i knew this was gonna be the last time i see him in a while anyway karedn gave me a hug and said you'll be alright. anyway same set list but just as they were about to start this guys in love with you ashley comes running through the door and you here this mighty roar from the band members carl gave ashley a big hug and the proceeded to get on with the gig.
i don't think carl had noticed me yet as i was wearing a dress and not the token Carl t-shirt anyway they got to the letter and all of a suddne Carls eyes just lit up and he gave a wave to me HOORAY he finally found me and after that he seemed alot more vitalised on stage.
at the end of the show ashley said Carl will be out in 5 mins to signs some cd's etc anyway i said to karen i might just catch him when he passes past the table so we can go as it's getting late and she said whatever darl anyway who should come out of the dressing room no other then Matt corby with dreadlocks haha turns out he was sitting at the same bar table as me 3 seats down hehe. anyway then carl came out and he came streight to me and said glad you made it what did you think of the show? i told him i thought it was awesome and said sorry but we can't stay we have to be up in 5 hrs for work and he said OH BABY in a sad voice he gave me a big hug and a big kiss on the cheek and said well thankyou so much for being there supposrting me at all the gigs it means so much to me for you to be here and i said my pleasure anyway the roadie guy was hurrying him along to the table where he was signing anyway just as we were about to go up the stairs to leave he calls out Amanda what time is it? and i turned and went back down and said 11.15pm and he said oh it is getting pretty late for you guys then and i said yeah and he said are you watching idol who's your favs? i said i am watching idol but i don't think i'll ever have another fav as your it he got out of he's chair and gave me another big hug and kiss and said thankyou so much amand a for everything i said i will definately try to get to the melbourne gig in december and he said that would be great if you could and i said i'll see what happens he grabbed me by the hand and said see you later and thanks again. as i proceeded up the stairs i started crying once again as i really didn't want to leave karen hugged me again and said are you alright chickie and i said yeah i just find it so hard to walk away from him and she said he finds it just as hard for you to walk away from him also she said he looked really sad when we left and she said you could tell he wanted to chat longer to you ( i'm not sure whether she was just trying to cheer me up) i said yeah but we have to goo to work soon so i couldn't stay and she said darling your happiness means more to me than work if you wanted to stay there all night chatting to him i would support you in doing it to which i satrted balling even more she said your like the daughter iv'e never had and i love to see you happy and when your around Carl i can see that you are.
i said oh well we have left now its to late .
anyway the whole trip home i was crying tears of both joy and sadness it's kinda like what angeo's quiz thing says for the pure imagination fan
You are an open-hearted, trusting person by nature and as a consequence you give too much of yourself and could get hurt in the process. You should be careful not to end up depressed or with a broken heart because you get too carried away with your pipedreams.
this is very true but i honestly can't help the way i feel.

VENUE 7-10
PARKING 10-10
PERFORMANCE 10-10
CARL 10-10



Fly By Night, WA – 3rd October 2008 – Angeo’s review.

I wasn’t very organized I'm afraid. Left work later than I wanted, no petrol, kids and Mister Mom had to be fed, guest beds to make, and my friend an hour late. So I didn’t even start getting ready until about 7.45! I told myself not to panic if we were late because even though doors opened at 8pm we didn’t expect Carl until much later. We were on the road at 8.30 and after filling the tank it was a 20 minute run to Fremantle and parking was a breeze and free! My friend reminded me we hadn’t eaten anything ourselves – like I cared! My stomach was in knots! So we hit the café strip and decided the fastest food apart from Hungry Jacks would be a Souvlaki. I quizzed the impatient little Greek man at the counter how much garlic was in the meat and was told smugly everything had garlic. Oh great - if I get to meet Carl he’ll be recoiling in disgust at garlic stinks oozing out my pores. So I settled on chicken which I was assured didn’t have as much. I noticed how the little Greek man, so irate with me, changed into a charmer when my beautiful friend came up to order coffees, *grrrrr*. As I nibbled the souvlaki trying unsuccessfully to eat without losing all my lipstick I saw the time was already after 9pm! I let most of the garlicky bits of chicken fall uneaten on the plate much to my friend’s disgust but I didn’t want her to know that having garlic-free breath was of utmost importance. All that was left standing between me and my Honeyman now was a coffee which I guzzled down and got froth all over my lips. A group of guys came in and one of them sat down with us all debonair saying ‘I’ll sit with these beautiful ladies here’ but when he looked at me with my cappa moustache he quickly got up saying ‘maybe not’. That got me thinking that I look better from a distance so I was wondering how to meet Carl without any proximity, maybe I could shout at him through a megaphone and get a courier to bring him stuff to sign.

Anyway the next stop was a pub toilet to refresh the makeup and finally we were back on the trail to Fly by Night. Some guys who were walking just ahead of us stopped outside the club and asked us what was on, commenting how dead it looked. That got me worried. We went in and I muttered I was on the guest list, got our wrists stamped and the door was opened to a large hushed warehouse room with a red-lit stage at one end, a bar at the other and rows of red seats in three block sections. Two blocks of seats were pretty full but one was almost empty. We headed straight for the bar for some fortifying alcohol and Ashley appeared on stage with the rest of the band doing some swinging number. We quickly took our drinks to seats in the empty side and sat just one row from the front even though the front row was free.

Then Carl jumped on stage and I couldn’t help smiling hugely. He looked thin but still so handsome and sexy. He swung into Got to Get You Into My Life and sounded gorgeous. I had a peek at the audience and they were all smiling and happy and totally entranced. There were heaps of older people, a nice complement of men to a larger proportion of women and a fair few young girls in groups and even some eccentric Fremantle types. But it was a very subdued formal setting, the stage was high, so jumping down for a dance was a no-goer for Carl, although he did invite people to have a dance but no-one actually got up. The audience was appreciative with people yelling and whooping and whistling. I absolutely looooooveeeed the Chuck Mangione number, Feels So Good. And of course I was delighted to hear my favourite, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is and This Guy’s in Love. And the song about something he’d ‘really like to be’ a Smooth Operator. My friend who really hadn’t seen or heard much of Carl who came along just to ‘indulge’ me was smiling and her feet were tapping. I was allowed a gleeful smirk but when I started tapping her feet with mine I stopped immediately with her disapproving frown.

During the break we refreshed ourselves and replenished drinks and then sat right in the front. My friend remarked that he’d probably notice us creeping ever closer. So in the second set I took photos. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore featured a bit of Carl and Ashley joking around. When asking the audience for any requests he pretended to hear ‘Oh When the Saints’ so they proceeded to play it. For the birthday song there was someone in the audience called Georgia and he sang the Ray Charles song so beautifully, adjusting the lyrics to make it a birthday song, and Ashley picked up Carl’s cues ad libbing with the trombone. He is a very talented musician, his trombone playing is superb, and he even sang a little bit of Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, nice jazz voice. My Funny Valentine was absolutely heart melting and I really loved my first taste of Nobody to Find, I feel with that song he’s recovering some of the old Carl voice that we heard in his rendition of Home. I’d love to get the lyrics as I’ve been humming it since hearing it twice. I should have tried recording on my phone. It ended all too soon, and we roused him back for an encore which was Highway to Hell. Considering the Fly by Night is in Fremantle where Bon Scott is buried, I’m sure old Bon must have turned in his grave with that jazzy version.

But all you peeps who have seen him perform already know all this music stuff. It’s my actual meeting with the Honeyman himself that you all want to know about right?

When we came out of the ladies after our third restorative makeup operation for the night, we headed for the bar for some water. Then we propped ourselves there and surveyed the queue for Carl which was substantial. The club was emptying and my friend eventually guided me to the end of the queue and briskly went off to buy me a CD as I hadn’t brought anything for signing. It didn’t look like there were any postcards or posters. She came back and prised my numb cold hands open to take the CD. The doorman very kindly came over to us and gave us some spare tickets to have signed. As the queue dissipated I could glimpse Carl’s handsome face through the throng and if he ever happened to glance up in our direction my knees turned to jelly. My friend dryly took my camera saying ‘I suppose you want me to take your photo with him’. Eventually there were just two people in front of me and my heart was just about bursting out of my ribs and my friend had to stop me from darting to the door. Then I overheard Carl asking these people a simple question about a WA town but they weren’t giving him a satisfactory answer, and he kind of caught my eye when he had to ask them again so I piped up and answered for them Then I was all helpfulness offering to take their photo with Carl. Then Carl and I were mutually admiring the nifty camera the lady had. So being included in the conversation with them calmed my nerves before it was actually ‘my turn’.

Who am I kidding I was a quivering wreck again as soon as I looked up into his dreamy eyes. Carl smiled a friendly quiet ‘Hello’ and I babbled out that I was asked to say hello to him from someone. ‘Kathy said to say hello’. And he tried processing this information ‘is that a relative or someone?’ ‘No I mean Kathy, Ambercat, from the forum, and I’m Angeo’, ‘Oh!’ it dawned on him so he put his arm around my shoulders all chummy like saying ‘well you’re family then’. I was glad I wore my highest heeled boots so I came up to a decent shoulder height next to his 6 feet 1 and a half inches (is that right?) without my heels I’d only be armpit height! I got my CD cover signed to me and for my daughters too. I told him he sang Georgia beautifully ‘Even better than the original’ (I really meant it) and he said ‘Really? It was totally off the cuff’ and seemed quite pleased. So he signed the tickets as well and it was time for a photo together. I felt his arm across my back again *sigh*. And I made sure I tilted my head a bit closer into his shoulder.

I checked that he was definitely doing the Telethon on Sunday and said I was going to it. So as we said goodbye he said ‘see you Sunday’ and I said I’d see him before that at the Charles also and he made some appropriate surprised and delighted comment. And that was that! No kiss or full frontal hug but me still floating out 3 feet in the air and excited about seeing his next two performances in Perth. I’ve only got one photo with him though so here it is. Apparently three layers of makeup still aren’t enough to cover hideousness. But ooohh isn't he just beautiful?


Charles Hotel, WA – 4th October 2008 – Angeo’s review

Quite late again! It was probably after 9pm when friend J and I got there. Standing outside the entrance waiting for friend H, we spotted Carl’s band bustling around a white van parked further along so figured they'd just got here too. It was freezing so we decided to wait inside and get our drinks. The last few people in the lounge bar headed into the gig so it was just us left when H arrived. We got her drink, exchanged a few girly comments on dress, hair, makeup (women never grow out of this) and then realised we should be going in. The same guy who was the support act at the Fly by Night was there again signing CDs. Missed him twice! Was he any good Alty? CF? The Charles layout was so much better than Fly by Night. It was much more intimate with tables around a small dance floor in front of the stage, and benches and tables with bar stools scattered around the outside. The only place left it seemed was the end of a bench right at the back but I could see the stage clearly. J swiped a Carl poster off the pillar next to us for me to get signed. She was starting to get the hang!

The band were the same line up as FBN except for a different trumpeter, I really wanted to say hello to Troy Roberts as I know someone who has played with him. When Ashley announced Carl, I warned J that she’d probably hear all the same quips and jokes as the previous night and sure enough Carl and Ashley followed the same routine. J moaned ‘Oh no we’re going to hear it all again word for word’. So I pointed out that even Buble used the same routine over and over in all concerts and even rigged incidents like the woman grabbing his ass. But enough arguing! I realised I was missing my Honeyman! So I turned back to the stage, moved my stool closer and enjoyed the show. I wandered around trying to find a closer vantage point for photos but couldn’t get past the tables and benches. There were funny original moments like when Carl couldn’t get his words out right after playing the flugelhorn and said ‘Aw my mouth is all mashed’ then pretending to say the same words even more garbled than before. Yes – he is too cute *sigh*.

At the end of the first set we moved to another bar table over the other side of the room. We moved the table a few metres so it wasn’t so far back from the stage. I also noticed I’d be able to creep along the edge of the dancefloor to take better Carl shots. I could see the crowd better too and looked around for C-fan and Alty but I didn’t have much in the way of descriptions to go by did I?

The second set was a riot. Carl was much more at ease in this more casual environment. I didn’t waste time getting closer to take photos. Before long Carl was on the dance floor getting people up men and women alike and dancing up a storm. I was snapping away like mad but my camera shutter would freeze up and grind like an old clock and then I’d get a photo of blackness or streaks of light. It was so infuriating when Carl posed for me and the contraption fouled up again. *grrr – blasted stupid camera* I swear I’m going back to using a manual SLR. Here’s the pic anyway. You can see in the long exposure how he was posing so patiently and then giving up in disgust. Poor Honeyman.

They did ‘All the Saints’ for the ‘request’ again and Carl did the sexiest Sachmo voice and he and Ash fell about laughing. He came down for another twirl and eventually friend H appeared at my side to take my camera saying I should be up dancing not taking photos. ‘Hell yes’ I said but I only got two steps when he jumped back on stage. At the end Carl was roused back on stage for the encore, Highway to Hell. I saw some people looking amazed then amused and then just digging it.

Sadly it was over and I went to the bar to get some water. When I got back H said I’d missed Carl coming up close to our table and that he’d gone to speak to people at a table nearby. I think it might have been some people who were talking to Troy Roberts earlier. So I missed out on the chance for a close up view of him. She also said she saw Carl trip up when he came out the toilets and what a klutz he was. Friend J came back saying she’d had to direct him to the toilets but realised she must have pointed out the ladies. Damn, I just couldn’t be in the right place! Eventually Carl perched himself by the door to sign for people, and from where I was sitting I could see his gorgeous smiling face and at some point a lollipop stick in his mouth. My friend J and I got into an argument about Carl’s original song. She’d remarked at the Fly By Night that it was a bit dreary so I just told her I really liked it and she patronizingly said ‘because you’re a fan’ but I’d let it go then because of my Carl nerves. So again she said ‘L, you are a fan, I am not a fan, the song is dreary and I think someone should tell him it would not be a success as a single’. So I came back that even though I was a fan of Carl’s, I was still objective about his music and that was only her opinion and taste, and anyway he hadn’t said it was going to be his new single, it would be on his next album. But my friend likes to win an argument, no matter how subjective and unfounded. So voices were beginning to rise and it was getting heated. People were starting to look. We caught one man staring but he insisted he was only looking at the screen behind us. It got really down and dirty when I said to her ‘I like jazz, you like Bon Jovi’ and she was visibly riled by that which made me laugh. So I thought enough was enough and gave her a hug. I’d given my point and we’d made a scene, which Honeyman was oblivious to thank goodness.

By now the three of us were very lively and it was hilarious when friend H thought the barman as he went past us was Carl, ‘I wish’ he said. When he came by again I teasingly called out ‘Hey Carl! Oh it's you, never mind you’ll do’. J said she’d rather have him than Carl because he can clean up too. ‘Can you sing too?’ I teased him. The poor guy said we were making him blush but he was grinning hugely. I think it’s such a double standard when a group of women are allowed to give a guy razz like that. I went back to the bar for more water and then the barmaid and I joined leagues and teased the poor barman some more.

So it was altogether a fun night and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Have I forgotten some detail here? Oh of course Carl! Yes well Carl was still at the door, the queue was gone and he was chatting with the girl selling his CDs. My friends urged me to hurry up and talk to him. ‘Yeah, yeah’ I said nonchalantly. Then I heard Carl saying ‘well thanks for everything’ to CD girl, and I grabbed my very crumpled looking poster and was over there so fast. ‘Wait, don’t go yet, you need to sign this poster, my friend stole it for me’ and he went ‘oh hello’ recognizing me from last night. I told him I enjoyed the show and I thought the Charles was a much better venue and he'd looked like he was having a lot more fun and more relaxed’ CD girl was looking on and I explained to her I’d been at the Fly By Night ‘I know I remember you’ she said (which was embarrassing as I hadn’t noticed her at all). Carl said he thought it was even better than the Basement in Sydney. And I voiced my surprise and told him I’d really wanted to see him perform there and I’d missed him by a week. I guess the Basement isn’t as intimate as the Charles.

Carl was still sucking his lollipop. Close your eyes and picture the image of him with his soft lips pursing around a little white stick and his chiseled jaw and lean cheek muscles working as he swirls the lolly around and around on his tongue. And then understand why I was staring in wonderment like Charlie in the chocolate factory. ‘Chuppa Chup’ he said meaningfully, so I said the only Chuppa Chups I like are the Strawberries and Cream. With that Carl whipped the Chuppa Chup out his mouth and held it up to me and ... you guessed it - it was a Strawberries and Cream! Oooh I swear I have never wanted a Chuppa Chup in my mouth as much as I wanted that one. It was so tempting, all creamy pink and glistening from his mouth I stared transfixed with desire for this Chuppa Chup for a few moments. Then finally Carl just put it back in his mouth and crunched it up and I laughed and said I always ended up doing that too. I didn't even notice friend H come over and she asked him an intelligent question that I wish I'd asked, would he ever try to play in New York. He said it was apparently very hard to get into. His manager said even Delta Goodram's manager had trouble getting her over there. I was desperate to get Honeyman's attention back to me (note to self: must blast friend severely for butting in where not wanted ) so I told him about the Blue Note Club where people can nominate a jazz artist to play there and that he was now on the list ( Thanks for that Monetgo!) Of course I hastily followed up this information with a pouting 'but I don't want you to go overseas, we need you here in Australia', pawing at his shoulder lecherously, but then followed that up with 'although it actually seems that you need to make it big overseas before you get recognition in Australia' and he said 'Yes! What's that about?' and I said ‘I guess it's the cultural cringe' and everyone standing around and CD girl were nodding politely, and I sensed we were starting to run out of conversation here and I wasn't interested in making conversation anyway, I just desperately wanted to linger as long as possible with Carl! I asked if he'd met anyone else from the forum and he said 'Yes, I think she said Altair' and I asked what she looked like and he said ‘blonde’, then 'no brunette' and that she was 'very shy'... Awww… (Don’t worry Altair, Carl is only the second celeb I’ve ever asked for a signature too, and was terrified of asking him both times! ). Then friend H brought up the topic of Australian Idol but Carl didn't have any opinion to offer her and CD girl joined in saying she never liked Idol but she did like Carl's music (where did she come from I wonder?) so I said Carl was 'an exception to the usual stuff that idol churns out' and 'I guess we can thank Australian Idol for giving us Carl' and he was really chuffed and said 'thank you so much' and I loved the expression on his face, sort of modest and surprised and pleased. He told CD girl she should get on the forum. I'm not sure why, maybe she had told him she really likes him or something so I gave her the URL but I doubt she'll remember it. Okay and what else did we talk about? Ah yes, even J couldn't resist getting a word in even though she was being non-participatory and standing away from us. She and H asked Carl about 'Feels So Good', something about it being the theme from a tv show or a movie, which no-one, least of all Carl, had the answer to.

Then Carl suddenly had a choking fit, blaming it on the Chuppa Chup as he spluttered and hopped about hitting his throat and coughing into a delicately curled fist. I thought I might have to give him the Heimlich manoeuvre, although given our height ratio I don’t think I would have been able to lift him under his ribs, so I gave his back some gentle pats which turned into tender rubbing (ready to paw him at any opportunity ). When he was back to breathing normally he signed my poster with 'See you at the Telethon' no name though so I guess he'd forgotten it already. No more photos, no hug, no kiss and unfortunately because we left before him it means I had to turn my back to him which I swore I'd never do because my retreating butt is a ghastly sight! So I hope by then he'd turned his attention to CD girl.

All I had to take home with me was a crumpled poster, a hungering for a Strawberries and Cream Chuppa Chup sweetened by Carl’s honeyed lips and the anticipation of seeing him at the Telethon the next day.

Okay that's about all I can remember. I was in such a half-drunken, sleep-deprived, peppermint tea buzzed, weird state of mind that night so there are hazy bits. I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything I'd regret ...



Charles Hotel, WA – 4th October 2008 – Carlfanatic07’s review

I just saw and met Carl!!!!!! I'm soooo excited and it's really late so I'll post a little review

So i arrived around 7.30, waited till 8.00 till we got in. Saw carl walk by and go into the warm up room. Then was his support act- it went on for ages!!! I luckily was very close to the front!!! He only went on at around 9.30. He was absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!! no doubt about it!!!! and then during one of his songs, he went onto the dance floor and people started to dance with him and stuff. and then he came up to our table and asked my friend to dance and he did, and then guess what........I DANCED WITH CARL RISELEY!!!! It was sooooooo excting. He was sooooooooo gorgeous. and I luckily got a few photos. then there was a break somewhere in there and then he sang the rest of his second set it was soooo good. Lots of funny moments inbetween. then at the end he waited for about 10 minutes and came out to sign stuff. and so I bought another cd for him to sign and he was sooo lovely. and then i got a photo with him. and then I gave this book to his that I made for him and he was like "oh you're gorgeous' it was soooo exciting. and then we had to leave. BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!!! and I'm hoping I'll get to meet him again tomorrow at Telethon!!!! I'll try and post pics later but I can't guarantee it!



Perth Telethon, WA – 5th October 2008 – Angeo’s review

At the Convention Centre where it was held, we wandered around stalls and the kids went to the indoor fairground. Some friends had given us backstage passes or rather 'Telethon Artist' passes. I know we should have used them but with my inscrutable partner along one one's inducement and enthusiasm to do anything daring and different becomes somewhat water-logged and besides the kids were happy at the playground. I did end up at the backstage desk though in my almost futile hunt for a bottle of water (everywhere had run out) - they took pity and gave me a bottle and in return I gave a gold coin donation (or rather 2 gold coins) in their tin

During the long queue for the final show I remembered I hadn't set the recorder so I rang mother and friend to record it for me, which is why I have nothing! (Mum recorded wrong channel, friend's Channel 7 reception is crapulent).

Carl was absolutely gorgeous. It was wonderful hearing the warm-up while the tv was on commercials and other sections. Ashley sat at a baby grand. Dearest managed to catch my eye as I snapped away happily with the camera and uttered these words in absolute disgust ' three nights in a row?' (after just discovering that morning that I'd been to see Carl on Friday and Saturday).

The song was 'Let's Fall in Love'. Some of the stars on the panel (don't ask me who they were at that point) were skidding across the floor in their chairs on castors in time to the music. The audience were clapping along in time to the music and Dearheart was punching his fist into a balloon (was he envisaging Carl's head? )

It was over too soon and there was no time for Carl to dally as he had to get off stage for the next act

We watched a few more acts although my girls were so tired. David Campbell was really something else. He was fantastic how he got the crowd going. His trumpeter had been in Carl's band at the Fly by Night. He obviously wasn't at the Charles as he would have been doing DC's opening Telethon performance. Our seats were almost at the back row of the first block in the middle and we were right on the aisle so when David Campbell comes up our side you can see the back of our heads as we clap along. Eventually all the stars came onto the stage and sat at tables for the telethon speeches and the extra $2 million courtesy of Kerry Stokes and a WA lotto winner. Carl and Ashley sat at the far end from us. So David Campbell sang another rousing number and all the celebs got up dancing and mingling. Ashley grabbed Carl's trumpet off their table and gave it to him and then Carl struggled to push through the throng to join the trumpeters in DC's band at the other end of the stage. He managed to jam with them for only few notes before the end. He then hung around with them when the confetti came down at the close of the show. And that's where he was standing when we left. I couldn't hang around star spotting with disgruntled hubs and tired kids



Hot Summer Groove Festival, NSW – 7th December 2008 – Jodie’s review.

Today was Carl Riseley at Nurragingy.

Drove through torrential rain on the M7 (I couldn't see a metre in front of me WOO), only to arrive at Nurragingy about an hour before the festival actually kicked off.

We set up camp under what looked to be a harmless palm tree - which ended up dripping on us...so we moved back a little.

First few bands were uneventful, then we saw Carl arrive.


I saw him after going for a walk to buy water and he was like "HI" so I went for a chat.
The best first question was "Is this a jazz festival thing?" Me: "well um...yea???"

He's cute, he wanted to know if there was any other food places, whether there was another stage over the hill (I don't think there even was an over the hill??), and whether we were close to Rooty Hill RSL.

He went to soundcheck so we left to gain back our spot under the palm tree.

Amanda arrived and we caught up on the Melbourne gigs (they sounded like so much fun!!)

Then it was time for Carl to play.

He had Ashley and Mr Bottom in the band, as well as a fill in keyboardist and drummer (Who were both named Tim I think??)

He did 2 sets, much like his own shows.

He walked through the crowd trying to see how far he could get from the stage before the mike dropped out.

We aww'ed into his microphone cos we didn't want him to finish.

Joined the line for the signing, got the front and pulled the usual "Do you remember my name yet?"
He ummed and ahhed, and ummed and ahhed, and came up with Belinda lol.

So we told him, and he repeated it OVER and OVER and OVer, insisting it would make him remember it hahah.

Took photos, hugged and left to stand at the side (he was like come back in 10 minutes and I'll remember your name)

So we listened to Ashley giving these young boys a lesson in circular breathing, which was entertaining, the boys were enthralled.

Got back to the front and Carl's like "JODIE!" making the two people he was having photos with at the time go "JODIE???"

Some guy came up to me tapped me on the shoulder and went "You're a champion!" and I was like wtfff and Carl's like "who was that?"

I said I'd never seen the guy before in my life, and he was like oh okkk...And he told me that I should believe people when they tell me I am a champion hahaha.
Inflated ego much?

Got a kiss and a hug, and he drew on the card where he spelt my name wrong (it's apparently him in 60 years...to me it looks like 2 people dancing, or a tree lol)

I was like "Have a good chrissy" so he did this weird handshake thing where he's like spirit fingers and stuff, and turns around, he was doing it onstage with Ashley.

Got another kiss for some reason, and a hug, then he hugged my two friends, hugged Amanda goodbye and left, but not before yelling out "BYE JODIE" again.

Somehow I think he's not going to forget my name hahah...

So we said bye to Ashley and came home.

Stopping at Macca's on the way.

And that is all.

Thats taken straight out of my blog about the weekend.

Amanda has more photos, and she wrote down the Set list.


But he did Fly Me To The Moon, it was great..



Hot Summer Groove Festival, NSW – 7th December 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

carl was awesome at naragi park last night anyway the STREET TEAM"S SCREAMS were in form last night he was so happy with how loud we all were.
anyway the highlight for me last night was when we were getting our postcard signed he wrote on mum's dear ma lots of love carl. xxx love you :)
anyway she said thankyou son and he turned to me and said now you can't have any naughty thoughts and i said as if i would haha and he goes oh ok thats good then nd we got our photo taken anyway we were waiting around for jodie to see if carl remembered her name and i was chatting to ashley lewis by this stage anyway then out of nowhere i was getting hugged again sigh it was carl saying goodbye and thanks again for coming and i said to him.
"i was just thinking about it and if you were son in law i'd be well within my rights to have naughty thoughs to which he smiled and said yeah i guess you would wouldn't you haha and i said just joking i'm more than happy to be a fan" awwwww i'm so in love right now.



The New Capers, VIC – 20th December 2008 – Amanda-Renee’s review

ok so me, mum, jodes and kellie caught a taxi at 6.00pm and got there by 6.10pm but the doors didn't open until 6.30pm so we went down to the pub for a drink. anyway the guy working the bar had this really nice accent which i mistook for irish but he was actually scotish and jodie was banished from the carl concert as she said she could sit and listen to the bar guy talk all night. haha

anyway 6.30pm we wandered up to capers, we got seated and had our dinner although me and mum were on one side of the room and jodes and kel were on the other clearly the seating arrangements didn't suit us but we dealt with it.

then kathy and julie ( ambercat and ambercats mum) rocked up at about 7.30pm and they got the table next to us so jodes decided to ask the waitress girl if they could move so they could sit with us so they reorganised the seats and we were all together.

8.45pm showtime they started with the usual theme song and the set list was very similar to bennetts but with a few changes due to someone's almighty decible breaking scream ( guess who that was) anyway the first set was amazing and i was in absolute heaven i recieved that much eye contact and i was a goner putty in he's hands.

once again Carl thanked he's street team for coming waahoo for us, and he continued on through he's first set. at the end of the set he done the ok we are just going for a 5min break for 10 min and we will be back in 15mins joke

back for the second set and he thanked everyone for staying haha, anyway this is when it all started turning amazing during he's version of herb alberts rise he done the 70's dancing gag again and he said about how down in bennetts he had some drunk girl come up flinging her ass around etc and jodes yells out amanda was that you? and i said no and he said no it wasn't amanda hehe but i was so embarressed anyway, then got people up to dance with him and who should he get up to dance none other then our own ambercat (kathy) they were doing the bus stop type dance etc it was hellarious.

then when he sang it's begining to look a lot like christmas i gave julie a christmas hat to throw up on the stage for him saying who's you santa he laughed for a min and put it on and then decided it would suit he's guitarist better as he still had the mow and beard from movember.

after that he asked if anyone was having a birthday and we all yelled out in sycronsisation you are tomorrow and we started singing and he's like well actually it's tomorrow and we said we know that what we said and he's like how do you all know that? and we were like der!!!!!

then came the part where he couldn't decide what to sing so he had a vote between fly me to the moon and it had to be you ( i have been part of this vote 3 times now and have always missed out on hearing it had to be you so this time i was determined to hear it) so he said fly me to the moon which got a roaring responce and then he said it had to be you so i brought out the lion in me and gave out an almighty scream AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH anyway he went man that definately cracked the decibel level so my lone voice bet out the majority anyway so he started singing it whilst i hid under the table embarressed by my vocal ability to scream.

being the nice guy he is though after it had to be you he also sang fly me to the mood so my lone voice got an extra song out of him there.

then he started singing and he said were's that screaming girl come and have a dance to which i got up and danced but my legs were absolutely jelly like anyway he kept talking to me saying baby stop being so nervous it 's me and i was like i'm gunna be sick and he's like don't be silly and was laughing anyway he said alright i'm gonna spin you and i was like which way der and he spun me twice then i spun him anyway i was so so so giddy, carlstruck, nervous, butterfly filled i have never ever been that full of adrenlin in my life and it was the best felling in the world.

anyway after that moment i honestly can't remember to many of the songs as i was so high it took a while to come down and breathe normally again.

but i remember that's all was suposed to be the last song but then he came back out and done an encore with that's all slow version, lido shuffle, and something else i'll get back to you if i remember.

then when it was all over we waited as we do and went up jodes and kellie was chatting to Carl for quite a while i'll let her tell you what about, mum chatted for a bit and then me well i was on the phone to wendy and i passed the phone to carl and said wendy has something she would like to say to you and all i heard him say was wendy stop crying or don't cry or something like that ( Carl talked on my phone ahhhh) anyway then after they hung up i gave Carl angeo's present and he was like oh tell her thankyou but she didn't have to do that, then i gave him my present and he was like look at all these gifts you guys shouldn't have and gave me a big hug and kiss. anyway he said he should probly get through all the others but he told us to sit down and he will chat to us later when he gets through all the other fans so we all sat around waiting.

in the mean time there was this drunk guy chatting to us called gus and he was telling us that he loves carl and he will definately make it big time etc and he kept trying to guess which one of us was Carl's mother and wife hehe.

anyway 12 midnight struck and us girls broke out in song to which he hid he's head in the present bag and he said that we are lovely and thankyou so much then came the fun part he opened angeo's christmas present MISTLETOE anyway then the kodak moments were starting we all got our kisses including the mum's he loved every minuet of it.

we finished up saying our goodbyes as he's tour manager ryan looked like he wanted to leave and Carl was absolutly buggered also and got our final hugs, kisses and photos and then we left. definatly the best gig of carl's i have ever been to.


The New Capers, VIC – 20th December 2008 – Jodie’s review

OKay, so the show bit, I'll leave to Amanda cos it's al the same.
ANyways, as he was going up to the stage he stopped at Ambercats table to say hi, looked at me and went "JODIE" (Name = accomplished :))


Anyways, we got in the line, got he front, he stood up was like "Heyyyyy give me some love" so I did...Obviously..

We talked about how I'd never been to Melbourne before, and how he reckons I should visit St Kilda etc, how he didnt play New York New York (He sung it to us later hahah), and asked if me and Kel were staying in the same hotel.
My response was "no, I told her to go away to another hoteL" he was like "she's just waiting to pick up a man," and pulled out his suit jacket. My response was "oh thats how it is is it?" and he was like "Nah...I don't want to wreck OURRRRR relationship". lol.


Um....Yeh....he introduced me to Ryan, even though he only introduced me to Ryan two weeks ago. Hugs and kisses again and went and sat of to wait for everyone.

He trod on my fingers cos they "got in his way" (They were on the table), so I stole his sharpie, which is in my bag

I gave him a letter, written on hotel stationery lol, I don't want to say what it said, but it meant I got the bigggggggggest hug ever.

After the hug, he goes "aw thanks for coming. Say hi to your mum for me.....thats a really gay thing to say isn't it? What I meant was, say hi to your mother, from me, Carl"
As we said bye he goes {"See you next year" and I replied with "if your lucky..." (Doesnt everyone love a smart alec...) and he told me he was going to be "very lucky" lol

He told me I looked nice, and that "In that dress" I wouldn't have a problem hailing taxis (i told him I was a pro from working in the SYdney CBD hahaha)


I keep forgetting bits I'm sure.

But best show ever, and he remembers my name now hahahaha.

Australia Day on the Harbour, NSW – 26th January 2009 – Jodie’s review.

SO I just got home...it rained AGAIN (What is it with these jazz festivals, and me, and Carl, and rain?)
Anyways I think I was the only one from here there? (there were two young girls who were Carl fans, but I didn't speak to them)


So, he performed:

Lets Fall In Love
On The Street Where You Live
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
That's All
And a jazzed up version of When The Saints in the middle.


Carl was saying he just got back from LA this morning, and had to hurry off to get a flight to Melbourne so I didn't get a chance to talk to him for long.

He lost his voice on stage apparently, and afterwards he was like "Did you realise the huge thing on stage?" and I was like "no..." and hes like "I LOST MY VOICE" I tried to reason that it was cos he JUST got back from LA and hes like "But the crowd don't care about that...only you guys would forgive me..."

as soon as he walked on stage he waved at me, I felt special hahaha....AND....he still remembers my name (JODIE not BELINDA Amanda lolol)
I spoke to Ryan for a bit. He was totally unaware of the rooty hill gig, which turns out, is cancelled and he decided that instead of going to management for gig dates, he'll come to us instead haha :)

He offered to send Carl out in his underwear to talk to us to "generate publicity...but maybe not the good kind"

I only have one photo of Carl performing, it was raining, and my camera is kind of new... But I have got a photo with him, he was looking very niceee as per usual :)



Taronga Zoo, NSW – 21st February 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

well what a night and what a crowd honestly from all the gigs ivé been to this was definately the biggest crowd i'm talking easily 5000 it was packed we were practically sitting on each others laps but i still managed to get prime position right at the front and slightly to the right of stage.

started out a little drizzly but not heavy enough to worry about but everyone had their poncho's tarps and umberella's ready to go.

started out with john morrison (james morrisons brother) and the band playing a couple of count bassie charts and doing a tribute to the duke, they were awesome, then jackie cooper came out and sang a couple of jazz songs to get us in the mood she was really quite good also.

then about half hour after the band started playing it was finally our honeymans turn to come out and take the show.
he started with let's fall in love ( first song and he kinda forgot the words it's just a sentimental, accidental, sentimental alibi ) whoops but we will forgive him not sure how many people noticed anyway, anyway after that slight slip up he was smoking absolutely fantastic.

anyway about 3 or so songs into it the roadie (not ryan) came out and stopped Carl and said can you let this guy have the mic for a second theres something special he wants to do, Carl completely oblivious says yeah sure nxt thing you know this guy called jason starts talking about this relationship he's had with a girl for 6 years and asked her if she could please come up to the stage, anyway we all knew by this stage what was coming, he got down on one knee and proposed to he's girlfriend, and she said yes well there was not a dry eye in the place everyone was in tears.

shortly after that Carl goes maybe i should do the right thing here and he got down on one knee then he stood up and said love ya babe ( he tricked us ahhh of course when he said love you babe we all know he was talking to me haha jokes) he was talking to rach who was there.

anyway back on with the show and he sung a few more songs and because i was tapeing the show on my camcorder i didn't get a chance to write down the set list sorry. but the songs i can remember him singing are lets fall in love, reminising, time after time, the letter, lido shuffle, this guys in love with you, thats all, and JUST KISS ME to which when he said repeat i came out with the biggest REPEAT you have ever heard and he shoke he's head and laughed at me as once again i was louder then the whole entire park haha. he did sing other songs also but i can't remember at the moment as it's late and i'm still buzzing. but when i remember i will write them down.

anyway we got as far as playing when the saints go marching in then it started pelting down with rain but it was when this happened that the crowd came alive people were up dancing in the rain and had smiles from ear to ear it was so good to see that everyone stuck around and endured the battle with the rain.

at the end of the gig he was once again doing signings so me and mum looking like the drowned sewer rats we were got in the line and started talking to this lady about how we went down to melbourne to see him etc and she asked if i wouldn't mind taking a photo of her and carl and she would do the same for me anyway we got to the front and carl goes you made it hi amanda hello mum and the woman goes oh mum? no wonder you went to melbourne to see him and she goes nah not he's real mum thats just what he calls me isn't it son? and he goes yeah these guys come everywhere me they are awesome. anyway she got her cd signed and i took her photo and then it was our turn he gave me a massive hug and said sorry i havn't been online lately ivé been really busy but guess what? and i said what? and he said 24th april new cd baby and i was like hooray thats 2 days earlier then last year and he goes thats right it is to and he goes how do you remember all the dates etc and i said what can i say im pretty much obsessed and he just laughed at me. anyway the lady took my photo's for me and then i took some of carl and mum. talked a bit more and then left but he said he will try to get online real soon as he misses us guys AWWWW he's so sweet.

drove home and i'm still in love :) night all.



Norwood Live, SA – 4th May 2009 – Ambercat’s review

Hey guys!! Had an awesome time at the Norwood Hotel tonight!! Although being an industry thing with lots of retail people etc there, the crowd was pretty quiet...so amanda... I couldnt really scream for you!!! (And sorry fanatic!! I only just came on the computer now and didn't see your message in time!!!) Mum's camera decided that it didnt want to take any pics during the show... not that many people were taking photos, so that was fine... we just sat back and enjoyed Carl and his gorgeous voice!!! He only had a keyboard player with him....I can't remember what his name was, I haven't seen him before.... But oh wow...Carl sounded sooooo good!!!!!!! His voice has improved 500% compared to what it was in Idol... wow..mum and me were in heaven!!!!!

Yeah Kris...we got seats at a table right in front of the stage!! And Carl came down and held my hand and gave me a kiss during All Of Me..... I thought for a minute he was going to pull me up to dance, but thank goodness he didn't!!! hahaha!! I'm not the best dancer!!! Then Carl asked the crowd if they had any songs off the album they would like him to sing..someone shouted out Reminiscing.... they just can't let Idol go!!!! So he sang that... super version!!! Carl was so hot tonight!!!! Then mum asked if he could sing Come Away with Me, but Carl said that he'd have to leave that one till later and sang Funny Valentine for her.... Carl said afterwards when we talked to him that he hasn't practised Come away with me enough and didn't feel confident in singing it yet which was a shame as we would have loved to hear that one..and there were some people in the crowd who said Oh yes! to that one too...but no luck.

But anyway, he sang Tenderly, All Of Me, Funny Valentine, Reminiscing, The Stillest Hour, The Way you are Tonight...I can't remember if there were any more... Then afterwards he had a cd signing and mum and I stayed for a little while... we made the mistake of going first so we didn't spend as much time with him as we would have liked... although Carl didn't seem to want to let us go... it was mum who said, come on, there's heaps of people waiting!!! We got our hugs and kisses and a nice signed poster and cd sleeves and we had to leave him!!!! Anyway, here are our pics... the one of Carl and me is a bit weird and Carl wanted another pic taken cos he knew he had a funny look on his face, but mum's memory card was full and she couldn't stand there and delete as there were heaps of people waiting.... Dad had borrowed the camera and had filled it up with car photos!!!! Anyway, we'll see him again in June and hopefully by then, we will have that memory card empty ready for just Carl!!!! Can't wait for June 4th!!!!!!!!



Warringah Mall, NSW – 10th May 2009 – Kris’ Review.

Such a great morning! A bit cold and windy but it wasn't too bad. A nice quick ride up to Sydney - only took one wrong turn but we ended up where we needed to be anyway. Excellent navigation from Amanda, once again

I think Warringah Mall is one of the weirdest shopping complex's I've seen! It was all kind of outdoors, with stairs and ramps everywhere, everything was very open...a bit odd! Anyway, we found where we needed to be and waited patiently for 1.5 hours! Once the staging area was set up, we grabbed a seat right up front. I didn't expect to be so close, we could reach over and touch the stage from where we were sitting. We were close enough to grab Carl's trumpet

Carl started off with a few giggles, looked around and said, "This is embarrassing!" He was marvelous as usual, dressed in jeans and a striped jacket. He's had a hair cut too - reminded me of his early Idol days! Veeery nice indeed.

If I can remember correctly, the song list was -
Tenderly, The Stillest Hour, Don't Get Around Much Anymore....I can't remember the rest!!

It was really nice, said Amanda's name out loud and waved/ gave us sexy looks. A few beautiful trumpet solos too.

Got The Stillest Hour album signed and got to have a quick chat, hugs and photo with honey man. A great day!



Mounties, NSW – 22nd May 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s Review

ok so awesome night and for the whole 2.5hrs we were there i forgot completely about being sick, carl really does have healing powers. anyway some of the songs he sang include the following not in order

the letter
reminiscing
lido shuffle
time after time
magnolia
come away with me
stillest hour
arms of a woman
never give up
minnie the mermaid hehe "to the sea to the sea to the sea haha:
on the streets were you live
all of me
it's alright with me
and a couple of jazz standards includeing basin street blues, and something else they do in new orleans.

carl and ashley were so funny and they were playing off each other all night

really great night jodes got her dance and ashley got he's teddy bear that we made with a we love ashley t-shirt on it hehe.



Rooty Hill RSL, NSW – 23rd May 2009 – Kazza’s review.

Just home from this gig and let me say Oh My God he is so awesome
Carl has grown so much since I saw him at this same venue last year he is so much more relaxed and plays up to the audience so much more he had them eating out of the palm of his hand,and as for the band fantastic loved every second of this show
Michele and I even got a kiss at the end how good is that I asked Ash if we could get to the front of the line as a certain someone seemed to be in Labour so he escorted us up to the front the look on Carls face was priceless
Will keep you posted on the baby news.
Did I mention how FANTASTIC Carl was........
And how Hot he was.............
Great to meet up with some other Carl fans would have liked to have hung round to chat maybe next time.



Rooty Hill RSL, NSW – 23rd May 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s review

great night found the place streight away, wasn't so streight forward going home though, ended up in the city as i forgot to take the liverpool exit to get back on the hume hyw so we ended up on the m5 on our way into the city haha but eventually we got home.

had a ball last night we got there rather early so we went upstairs and waited outside the showroom anyway they were doing their soundchecks inside and we were listening, jodie looked lovely in her dress however i think she forgot that she had a dress on a couple of times hehe ( when she was looking under the showroom door hehe)
anyway it was so funny as they were rehersing a new song called minnie the mermaid which is an interactive song which i all hope you get to see, but anyway as they were rehersing it and we had seen it the night before we were outside doing the actions and the call out and they were laughing inside the room at us.

finally doors opened and we went in, we were sitting at a pretty decent table not the best table though seeing as we bout our tix first but you get that, anyway we met michele and kazza and had a chat with them for a bit.

curtains up let the screaming match begin , me and kazza were both in fine form but managed to called the competition a draw.

although before aarons drum solo carl asked the crowd if we wanted to hear a drum solo and there wasn't much responce so i screamed out WE LOVE YOU AARON hehe so he felt a little happy with that.

bring on minnie the mermaid and bring on our bubbles hehe we were like little kids well some of us were my mum included hehe but we had fun with them.

the show was pretty much the same as the night before

at the end of the show we talked to ash for a bit and i got him to sign my ash lewis cd i own, and he loved he's bear that we gave him the night before he's even gonna make the bear he's default pic on facebook hehe.

went and got our signatures and photo's with carl and bloody ryan was trying to hurry us through agai yet we had been waiting for prob 40mins to see him in the line. ryan is such a sour puss don't like him much.

anyway great night and great gig, didn't like the venue as much as mounties but it was ok



Full Moon Café, QLD – 29th May 2009 – Jodie’s review

So, after a one hour flight delay, a horrible flight and a nightmare taxi ride to the venue, arriving with literally 8 minutes to spare, my night was not off to the best of starts.

The venue was very small and intimate, giving off that slight jazz club vibe.

Upon arriving, i spotted ash who queried why i was there, given he thought i was going to noosa. Suprise ha ha.
Anyway, he informed me that he had the 'we love ash' bear with him, but it was upstairs. Its his mascot apparently.
Because of the small size of the venue, you could see carl before he took the stage, i caught his eye and waved, whilst ryan proclaimed that i was 'everywhere'.
The set this time was slightly different, with a different band. Westy was back, along with ashley and luke, but the rest of the band was new.
The crowd was reasonably quiet, and the first set was fairly uneventful, and quite similar to the first set from previous shows, except perhaps a bit shorter.
The second set got off to its usual start, i got busted not once, but twice, by carl for not doing the actions to 'minnie the mermaid'
So, all of me begins and carl invites the crowd to dance. The dancefloor was full obscuring me from view, i was glad.
But no, carl danced with nat and another lady, then came and stood in front of me. I objected, he won. The good news was, this time, i wasnt so unco dancing, and i wasnt wearing those bloody hi tops.
The band then launched into what seemed to be an impromptu version of fly me to the noon, as carl spent another song dancing with the crowd.
Given the small venue, the new orleans bit was sacrificed as was arms of a woman.

After the show, i went and joined t.id signing line, and was off in my own little world, till i noticed ash laughing at me for being in the que.
I wasnt supposed to be there apparently.
So i got near the front and carl was talking to nat, them suddenly pointed at me, declaring 'jodies on the forum' this made sense once nat explained she had signed up.
I got to the front and got a big hug, as long as stories about s*** flights, and the spelling of jodie.
He signed my cd, with it now saying 'were in bris' just to point out the obvious.
Ash took a photo for us, and i went to chill behind the table.
Spoke to ash and ryan for a bit. Ash reckons that i should get a cab to noosa and just send the bill to universal records ha ha.
Carl came over to chat some more. He kept treading on my shoes cos they were too clean, mind you, they were filthy.
Nat took a photo of both of us with carl, just so she can say she met me of course ha ha :)
After carl left, i convinced a cute bar boy to give me a poster off the wall, had a drink and went home ready for a 3 hour bus trip today



Full Moon Café, QLD – 29th May 2009 – Colourmehappy’s review

What a fantastic night it was on Friday night! I was lucky enough to meet the lovely Jodie after the show as I was telling Carl that I had joined the forum (and I told him how nice I thought you all are and about the warm welcome you gave me and he said something along the lines of "yes they're a great bunch on the forum"). Just as I told Carl about joining the forum he pointed behind me and said Jodie is in the forum too and then my friend and I with Jodie the rest of the time there. (Sorry Jodie if I talked your ear off - the excitement of the night + a couple of wines = chatty Natty! lol

The whole night got off to a great start tho because as stopped by the reception desk (which we weren't going to do until later to buy tix to another upcoming concert) who should walk down the stairs but Carl in a green jumper! I was very well behaved tho and didn't tackle him on the spot. He was on his phone so I smiled as he walked past and I thought "let's let the man be and we'll hopefully talk to him later".

We sat up toward the back during the first set as we hadn't got the reserved seating ones but I noticed a table at the front was empty the whole time. During the break Carl walked past and so I said hi and told him we were enjoying the show but that we wanted to come down the front and make some noise and he said "yes do that" and a staff member behind him said "that table is yours if you want it". Didn't have to tell us twice. Once we got down the front Carl appeared and so I talked to him again and mentioned that I was doing a gig (which I did today at an RSL club at a Jazz afternoon) and I said I was going to watch him for some tips on stage presence. He's so modest that he asked "wow do I have stage presence?"The second set started and and Carl asked if anyone wanted to get up and dance so I dived up straight away and then realised it was just one other couple and me on the floor and I thought "oh what a nigel!!" But then another girl joined me so all was ok. Then in the musical interlude I nearly fainted when Carl hopped down off stage and grabbed my hand and danced with me!! He asked me if I do the song and we had a chat and my amazing friend who was with me took pix of me dancing with Carl! The other girl dancing said "ahem may I cut in" and we both said sure and then Carl dancing with her and went around the room dancing with others. Jodie told me later that he often does that and it still amazes me as that's never happened to me before.

Anyway, sorry this is so long, I'm still excited. I already Carl's new cd and had that with me and then I bought the new one on the night and he signed both for me and then my friend (who didn't know Carl before that now and is now converted) chatted to Carl and Jodie and Ashley for a while till we said bye to Carl.

It was a fantastic night and again it was great to meet you Jodie. I'll post up the pix hopefully tomorrow cos I got quite a few. Oh yes and I think Carl said he hasn't been in the forum for a while but will try to come in soon and that he'll check out the pix.



Noosa-Tewantin RSL, QLD – 30th May 2009 – Jodie’s review

First off, the crowd was very much into it - given that they were all elderly (Noosa is a retirement area apparently?) lots of dancing singing and cat calling from the crowd.

I arrived at the venue about 5pm, with carl not scheduled to be on until 8.30 (I wanted to get there when it was still light out because I had NO idea where I was going.)

Carl was soundchecking when I arrived - singing a song I had not heard before, and a little bit of the Letter and Basin St.

They had a bit of a laugh over the fact I was there so early, but hey, I got prime seating :)

So I was talking to Ash and carl and the story of my stupidity leaving the camera behind in Brisbane came up - Ashley had a quick fix, I'd use Aarons camera to take photos for him (note, I am not a photographer haha)

So, Ash, Carl and Ryan stick around and talk for a bit, then disappear to have food and the like, and I sit there on my lonesome, completing the Full Moon review and just generally looking pretty loner haha.

There was a support act whose name I could not remember. He had funny pants on, but was pretty good.


Carl came onstage to tremendous applause from the audience, the set was pretty much the same as the night before at Full Moon - except they chucked teh New Orleans bit in this time.
When singing All Of Me, Carl gestured towards the dance floor at me - I won the battle this time and remained seated haha :)

Carl did the usual signing thing, and instead of joining the line this time, I went and sat onstage and chatted to Ashley for a bit, so he couldn't laugh at me for getting in the que, I eventually went and spoke to Carl, about a whole range of subjects from David Campbell to s***..I mean Short Stack, to why I was in Noosa, and work and things like that. A lady came up to Carl and told him not once, but twice, that he should add Danny Boy to his repertoire, and that she thought she was seeing Harry Connick Jnr up on stage performing.
Carl signed the poster that I stole off the wall at Full Moon to "Dearest Jodie Baby" Declaring we were in Noosa (yet again stating the bleeding obvious!)
Eventually Carl had to leave, so I said my goodbyes and walked back to the hotel which was just down the road.

Over this whole weekend Carl, Ashley and Ryan have been absolutly fantastic - always checking that I had methods of transport sorted to get me from A to B, and just generally making me feel welcome when Iw as sitting there by myself.

I have it on a pretty good authority that Carl's flight leaves Brisbane a similar time to mine, so I might go for a wonder down to the Qantas terminal and just have a squiz :)

The Basement, NSW – 5th June 2009 – Jodie’s review

So last night was the Basement.

Carl didn't hit the stage till nearly 10pm I think...very late!!
And, no flash photography/video recording, so....NO PHOTOS

Show was aweesome as usual - the crowd was absolutly AMAZING, really getting into Minnie the Mermaid and stuff.


We were sat up the back this time, which was good, but we were on stools, our poor poor backs!!! and I know Amanda wasn't feeling the best either

The set list was quite similar to the others - except Arms of a Woman was back this time - YAY

Carl danced with Ash, best couple in the room according to Amanda haha


So anyways, we waited until the very end of the line to talk to Carl, he was quite tired, but was still absolutly lovely.
Highlight - him talking about me being in QLD and saying "Yeh, when we went to Cairns" I was really confused, and responded "um, when did we go to Cairns?" His response, "in my dreams". Amanda was in that dream too apparently hahahahah.

He said I took some great shots for Aaron at Noosa, and he's going to try to get me a copy of them - so heres hoping I can upload them here eventually.

Then we spoke to Ash for a bit, and Rachel, then left to come home :)

Thanks again for driving me home Amanda :) (I'm a tool and missed the last train - I didn't factor in how late the show would finish, I thought it started earlier)



The Basement, NSW – 5th June 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s review.

yep the basement gig was awesome by far the best crowd participation iv'e seen for minnie the mermaid, everyone got into it.

ash and carl were definately the best couple in the room, although rhys wakefield ( lucas freom home and away) and he's squeeze were giving them a run for there money seriously GET A ROOM GUYS!!!!

after the gig in our usual form we got on the end of the line to talk to carl, and i got in trouble for giving him a half hug ( was nervous as rach was right behind us) so i gave him a big massive bear hug and he said thats better.
anyway gave him he's dvd of the mounties and rooty hill gigs and he noticed i had a ring on my engagement finger and he asked if i was engaged and my answer was nah it's kinda a promisary bullshit ring from the on again off again bf of 9 years + hehe, and he was like your not gonna meet any strapping young lads wearing that then are you? hehe ( i should have mentioned that for him i'd sladly break that promise but i don't think that would have been a good move. )
he proceeded to tell us about he's cairnes dreams really would like to know what happened in more detail LOL. if it's anything like my dreams who'd know hey ;)

anyway talked to ash for a bit and appologised for mangeling he's dvd case which i accidentally dropped and cracked and told him i owe him a new case at bennetts. he told us about how many sickies he's had from work lately and how they are getting pissed off with him hehe. ( we'd make a good pair i call in sick for carl gigs also hehe)

then we had a chat to rach as we were getting turfed out the dorr she said she had a great night and we will talk more down at melbourne. she's lovely.

took jodes home and finally got home myself at 2.45am woke up this morning with the biggest hangover and i didn't even drink WTF??? so tired hey.

over all great night and glad i9 lasted the whole night major headache and shoulder pains ahhhh!!!!



Darling Harbour Jazz and Blues Festival, NSW – 6th June 2009 – Jodie’s review

I just got home from the jazz and blues Fest.

It was a gorgeous day, lots of sun, and people, and jazz - but as soon as the sunset, it got VERY VERY cold haha.

Carl performed on the aquashell, which is a stage on the harbour itself, it was rocking a bit, guess his sealegs got to make a bit of a comeback.

He performed a condensed version of his two sets - including Minnie The Mermaid.

The crowd didn't really get too into it tonight, but I suppose - there was a lot of people, not all there for Carl.

No photos AT ALL cos it was pretty rubbish, and a long way from the stage.


He did a signing, a few people lined up, I waited till last hahaa.

He poked my hands cos they were purple from the cold, and we just generally chatted in between him signing autographs for the last few stragglers.
Lots of tourists were getting photos of Carl, not WITH him, OF him hahah.

Some lady was hassling him, which left Carl looking a little bewildered, but he handled it well.

Big hugs goodbye, and i commented that he was really warm (he was, I didn't really want to let go, cos I was FREEZING), and he responded with "oh i'm smokiiiiiiiiin........and i'm hot too" Oh to be modest...


Said goodbye to Ashley and ryan, and left to come home :)


Can't wait till Wednesday.

I'm not going to know what to do with myself after next weekend



Bennetts Lane, VIC – 13th – 15th June 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s review

first night was awesome we sat and braved the freezing cold out in the alley way for about 1.5hrs and whilst we were there carl and co were doing their soundcheck inside when they came out there was about 7 of us there and he was like whoa you guys are early arn't you. he felt sorry for us all sitting in the cold as he's knees were freezing he informed us later on.

gig was awesome same set list as all the previous shows from this tour but there was a special guest in the audience " john foreman" they got him onstage to help play the piano with john during " all of me" they were great doing all sorts of tricky stuff on the piano including changeing sides from each other on the seat etc.

also Carl's mum is over from NZ which he was also incredibly excited about.

at last nights gig i actually sat next to he's mum with rach right behind me, and it was hellarious as i was screaming as i do , so then carl's mum would scream also, so i'd get louder , so she'd get louder and i was like go mum, we got to chatting and she is so proud of both her boys and thanks all us fans with gratitude ( she said i was lovely hehe ) i took some photo's of her and carl and told her i would send copies to carl along with the dvd to forward on to he's mother.

monty got her dance with carl last night he picked her up in the air and she was squealing like you wouldn't believe she was so happy, carl also danced with he's mum which also another touching part of the show.

wendy didn't cry!!!! and she was so calm and collected during it's all right with me carl also got wendy to do the answer when he was saying oh oh sugar sugar baby baby etc she seemed very excited.

we all got our pics etc at the end and monty played her trumpet for carl and also got a private lesson from ashley lewis hehe she was in her element, not only that but carl also played monty's trumpet which she nearly died from, it was such a great night.

anyway guys i will post more including photo's when i get home but until then take care and i will chat to you all soon.



Twin Towns, NSW – 6th September 2009 – Jodie’s review

Sitting in a net cafe in Tweed Heads shopping centre, just thought I'd drop in and write up abotu this weekend because I have 3 hours to kill before my flight, because Virgin Blue aren't real willing to assist poor little sick me onto an earlier flight.

So first off, the weather up here this weekend has been amazing, and has ended up with poor little sunburnt me looking a bit like a lobster. WOO.

So, last night was the last night of Kate's tour, as Twin Towns on the NSW/QLD border.

I was a bit suspicious when I walked through my hotel reception to see a pile of musical instruments sat there during the day yesterday, and thought there was a slight possibility that Carl and the band were perhaps staying in the same hotel (It was the accomodatin attached to the Club, so it made sense.)

I was front row for the show, with my knees very nearly touching the stage. The girls next to me provided the screams as I had very little to no voice.
Carl looked very dapper in a suit which turned out to be his dads, he lost his somewhere. How you lose a suit is a bit beyond me haha.

Ashley and Alex were in the band - and the performance was great as per normal. The guy who taught Carl Minnie The Mermaid was in the crowd and everybody got right into it.

Highlight was when Carl was dancing through the crowd he asked a gentleman to hold his microphone for him, the gentleman began singing along for Carl. It was hilarious.

I escaped dancing because I was far too close to the stage, yet, as Carl was walking back to the stage, he spotted me, and the empty seat next to me. He came and sat down and kept singing the "Take my choppppssss" bit up into the next chorus, to me, which was a bit different as he normally sings it to Ashley. If I wasn't lobster coloured before that I certainly was after, not real keen of spotlights hahaha.
Carl nearly kicked me in the face as he jumped back on stage, but I escaped unscathed.

During intermission I went out to say hello, there was quite a few friends of Carls hanging around, so I said hi, he asked what I was doing on the coast, I said getting sunburnt but not going out in the sun cos I was sick.

He did mention that he was starting to plan his next tour. I didn't get photos/stick around for logn cos I felt/looked awful so I retired to my hotel room without watching Kate.

This morning, I went downstairs to make a dash to 7/11 to get Vitamin Water (Seriously, I'm addicted!!!!) and there was a hire van in the driveway with a double bass in it. My brains suggested Carl was staying there all along.

Later on when I went to check out, and was waiting for a taxi, I spotted Ryan and Sound guy. Then I spotted Carl. He enquired as to how I was feeling, and said that he was going "Beer-boting" today. He seemed very excited of the prospect haha.

I waited around outside for a bit with Carl and Alex, then my taxi arrived so I said my goodbyes and went to the airport now here I am after finding out I can't change my flights.



The Ellington, WA – 3rd October 2009 – Angeo’s review

Okay so we’d been told we had a table for two near the stage but when we arrived they said we’d be sharing with two others and it was right at the corner of the stage where the grand piano took up that whole part, so no chance of getting close to Mr Riseley. My friend was outraged and said we should just take the table right in front of the microphones. I wasn’t keen as the staff were seating everyone but undeterred she went and plonked herself down at that table anyway. So I joined and needless to say the waitress had to move us on but not without a bit of resistance from us. But we gave in eventually. The other couple were at our table already and I took the chair closest to the stage. After introductions I could tell we’d have fun with this couple. The lady, Glinda was probably in her fifties and when I asked why they had come she said ‘to see Carl of course, I love him’. That was it we were buddies from then on. Her partner Alex was in his sixties and a jazz lover and he commented it was good to see so many young people coming to see jazz. I mentioned how I’d written about the Ellington to Carl’s management suggesting it for Carl when it had first opened. We had a laugh about that as they thought the club should be treating me like a VIP.

The band soon came on and swung into a jazzy number. We recognized Ashley and I thought the guitarist might be Aaron. Carl came on with ‘The Letter’ to uproarious applause. His hair looked bedraggled but still gorgeous and he was doing little hops and looking very upbeat and I was captivated. He had his whole band with him so he was just so happy and relaxed. The couple with us were ‘ooohing and aaahing’ and Alex was full of praise for Carl’s voice. The audience just loved him. Carl announced he’d had an 18 hour flight from LA the day before. When he sang his ‘favourite song, ‘Magnolia’ I was just melting in my chair. He sings it with genuine feeling, eyes closed, thinking of his baby ….. *jealous . He did ‘It’s Alright With Me’, ‘Reminiscing’, ‘Come Away With Me’ and the audience-interactive ‘Minnie the Mermaid’ . . . The first set was over so fast! I went to the ladies and on the way back stopped to say hello to Carlfanatic. Then my friend went to the ladies and came back saying ‘Carl’s sitting right outside the ladies!’ I laughed and said ‘you liar’. But nope she wasn’t. She told me some young girls in the toilets had been freaking out ‘Carl’s right outside! Oh my god, oh my god, he’s just sitting outside the ladies!’ haha, I love it.

Anyway we decided to lean on the bar for a bit and the band came back on. My friend did her ‘Carl’s right behind you’ routine and I said my usual ‘you liar’ but sure enough Carl had propped himself at the corner of the bar watching his band and people were seemingly unaware or were pretending to be. Except for me of course, I openly ogled him (if my eyes were lasers he’d have holes in him). Then he moved and sat at a table just behind ours. I don’t know if he knew those people but they were pretty cool about it. I decided it was time to return to my seat and when I pointed Carl out to Glinda and Alex they got his attention and were calling him over and I joined in, patting my friend’s empty chair and giving him my ‘come hither finger-wiggle’ but he was politely declining, seemingly giving his attention to just enjoying the band while the people he was with gave me contemptuous looks. Finally he moved to the empty chair next to Alex who was quick to compliment Carl and his band and make introductions. When he introduced me he totally put me on the spot telling Carl I was probably responsible for him being at the Ellington. So forced into an explanation I started to speak but at that moment my friend, with her usual knack of ruining my Carl moments, decided to return and interrupt telling Carl he’d nabbed her seat. So I tried to speak again - but she somehow managed to cut me off again - after that I don’t think Carl was particularly interested as his attention was back on the band but I had my pride so I just quickly got through it saying I’d emailed Danae about the club. He gave a very polite, pleased response . . . and then things got a bit strange . . . he continued to sit there silently, watching the band and I realised I was just leaning on the back of my chair, ignoring the band, with my chin on my hands and just staring at him with a gooey expression on my face. I could see those people at the other table looking at me like I was a freak, so I said to him that I didn’t want to be rude but I had to turn my back on him to watch the band, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me anyway. Carlfanatic and most of the audience were still oblivious to the fact Carl was sitting with us. When finally C-fan looked over I gleefully caught her eye secretly pointing at Carl next to me and she grinned back. I’m such a kid! I really need to grow up. Alex then had to swap seats with a young guy from another table who was desperate to speak to Carl. It turned out he was an aspiring and up and coming jazz saxophonist, Chris, celebrating his 20th birthday. Later Carl announced this on stage and sang him happy birthday, very sexily I might add. Then Aaron sang happy birthday to someone else in the audience . . he has a fantastic voice! The crowd went wild! Carl is so generous allowing his talented band members like Aaron and Ashley a shot at the spotlight. Carl shared his love of New Orleans with the audience, telling us about Preservation Hall and the traditional acoustic jazz style and then they proceeded to go ‘off-mic’, Carl and Ashley sitting down and playing and singing in the style and it sounded great and everyone loved it. He even managed to dance with some of the audience despite lack of any dancing space, including Glinda who was over the moon. Carl had a bit of a show-off on the drums and of course everyone just thought it was wonderful although he was so modest about it, doing his military style drumming. I was hugely impressed but if he’d taken out a rubber band and twanged it I’d have given him a standing ovation.

When the show ended, Carl was signing in the upstairs lounge. A girl had been going around the tables selling CDs and I bought another one to get signed, but I needed a drink first. Eventually we headed up and saw Alex and Glinda on their way down. Glinda was all aglow as she’d given Carl a kiss on the cheek. I joked that I’d aim for the lips - hehe. Anyhow upstairs Carl was surrounded and I recognized that tour manager of his. We circled around the upstairs rooms and I got chatting to a couple of people whilst waiting for Carl whose back was to me. My friend positioned herself near Carl and wound up talking to two guys. When I saw the last fan moving off I moved in. He politely said hello and asked me my name. I gave him a massive hug and I don’t know how I managed to let go but I did, long enough for him to sign my CD. I said to my friend ‘see I told you he wouldn’t remember us’ and he said ‘yes I do, I sat next to you downstairs’ and I laughed and said I meant from last year. I said, ‘Anyway, Amanda-Renee sent me a text to say hello for her . . . and to give you a kiss . . .’ (that part was a lie) ‘. . . on the lips . . .’ (really lying my ass off there) the girl selling CDs laughed her head off and I said ‘well it was worth a try!’ Carl was all ‘Oh so what’s your forum name?’ Then it was hugs again as he recognized me and he signed inside the CD ‘Angeo you’re the best’, not that I actually looked at it right then, I was just doing my puppy-dog gazing up at him again. I thanked him for singing my favourite Magnolia, asked him about his writing and if we’d hear any of his originals on an album and we chatted about his record company ultimately deciding on the songs and he mentioned he’d do something a bit more commercial for the next one. I said that would be great as I’d love to hear him played on the radio. Then the men I spoke to earlier very sweetly decided to take a photo of us but the guy was pretty hopeless with his friend’s phone. So I went and grabbed my camera and he managed to get a decent snap of us which I’m posting here. We’ve both got such idiotically serene smiles I thought I’d spice up the pic with what’s really going on in our heads, haha. Carl had to go so I gave him one last hug, told him to come back on the forum soon and got to give him a kiss on the cheek. It was a fun night. I just wish he’d been able to do more gigs here in Perth. I’ve finally uploaded the telethon so I’ll put it on here now! Thanks for persevering through my long review, you all know what I’m like by now.



Bennetts Lane, VIC – 30th & 31st October 2009 – Amanda-Renee’s review

OMG!!! all i can say is last night was unlike ny carl we have ever seen it had everything from jazz to r&B kool and the gangs "ladies night", to rock ugly ( an original) , to gospal ( westy singing happy graduation day to you to a mate of theirs who has retired from the navy after 13 years,

we had male trio's carl, ash and westy , duets carl and ash and solo's not to mention a very taleneted female singer who helped carl with 2 duets.

we had special guests in the form of andrew hanshe , and the guy leaving the navy mr david? spoiner ? i think that was he's name playing trumpet and sax for lido and the letter.

also we heard some awesome originals one of which is my new favourite song called pebbles and stones, i was in tears the entire way through it. thankyou both to carl and ash so very very much for bringing your humilty, charm and honesty to the lyrics of a beautiful song. LOVE IT!!!! can't wait for this new album.

there was plenty of norty corner started by me that once again jodes got blamed for (sorry jodes) hehe, carl asked at the start of basin strett blues where he's horn was to which i casually but loudly reply "such a loaded question"to which h told us to behave hehe.

carl done nothing to help dispel any bromance ideas as he continually danced and rubbed up against ash, aaron and andrew at stages throughout the gig as well as the whole undoing the jacket towards each others dance thing they do.

even christine/ monty's mum got a scerinade tonight and she was embarressed but excited

totally awesome night and if you can get to an upcoming show when the next tour is announced please try to as the feeling you get at a carl gig can't truelly be described in word's on a forum.


ok all the positives out of the way this is my few negatives and things i would change if i had setlist/ lighting power

* i would cut out does anybody really know what time it is? and replace it ith the way you are tonight.

* i would cut out mr watermelon man and either stick with caravan or do feels so good again.

* as much as carl loves magnolia i would cut that and put all of me back in there as i feel that it is a carl come out and dance and interact with the crowd trademark dance and should really be there. ( no dancing last night and past fans would have been disapointed even if it was them who didn't get the dance the thrill of him being out and dancing with various crowd members is a great one.)

* the original ugly they performed needs the guitar to be turned down just a bit so that the lyrics are louder as it was getting bit distorted with the distorsion guitar background music.

* the lighting will they never get it right CARL HAS SENSITIVE EYES!!!!! PLEASE TURN THE SPOTLIGHT OF BEING DIRECT IN HE'S FACE AND SPOT HIM FROM THE SIDES!!!! it is so sad because carl has the most amazing eyes and you rarely see them as the light is in them so he closes them grrrr so frustrating.

fix these things and the show would be 100% off the chain hehe.

GREAT SHOW BABE EXCELLENT!!!!

Bennetts Lane, VIC – 13th & 14th February 2010 – Jodie’s review

Amanda and I rocked up to Bennetts Lane about 6pm on Saturday, and naturally, we were the first ones there.
We could hear Carl soundchecking, so we listened in, getting excited when we heard songs we'd been wanting to here.
Eventually, Carl and Ashley left to get food or whatever, Amanda and I both said hi to Carl, but he walked straight past us. I was a little puzzled by this, til he turned around and went "ahhhhh".
Hellos were said, hugs and kisses were dished out, and then we were left to continue waiting.
Once doors opened, we were the first in, and had a table reserved for "regulars". (Meg, the Bennetts Lane owner, even kicked Carls support act, Holly Weinert, out of the table for us)
There was quite a long wait before Holly took the stage, and I'm not to sure what to make of her. She has a great voice, but it wasn't really my kind of music.
Another massive break ensued, before Carl and his band finally took the stage, to perform one marathon nearly 2 hour set.
He performed a lot of songs from The Rise album, as well as Hello Dolly, Basin St, Bourbon St Parade, Minnie The Mermaid and Got To Get You Into My Life, as well as the orginals, Pebbles and Stones, and Two Friends (Evening Tea)
About 5 songs in, Carl gave a little speech about the forum, before playing The Way You Are Tonight for us. He also played Smooth Operator for us (who asked for that??)
He also played an original of Aaron West's, aptly titled "No". It's a definite number one hit in the making.
After the show, we sat around and waited til last, as per usual. Ashley came and joined us at the table, and we discussed all things social networking, and flying. He said he'd take me flying once he gets his passenger license haha :)
Eventually Carl finished talking to Wendy, Monty, Christine and Leanne, and he came and joined us at our table. We chatted for a bit before taking photos and the usual. Amanda and ma went back to talking to Ashley, whilst Carl and myself had a bit of a lengthy chat about how I hadn't been well, and how things were going Re: Universal and the like.
Eventually, poor Ryan appeared, he looked absolutely shattered (mind you, it was probably about 2am by this point) so we decided to head back to the hotel. We said our goodbyes, ready for a nice long sleep (not with Chinese new year happening a block away!) and eagerly anticipating the next nights show.

The next night, we arrived at a similar time, after Carl had told me the night before that Sunday's show would start earlier. We were armed with Roses galore, and Amanda was wearing her blood red valentines dress, ready for a night of er...romance?
The ever so lovely, Meg, brought us some chairs to sit on, so we didn't have to sit on the ground in that alley way. We entertained ourselves by rewriting Carl's songs to be about the sewerage guy who rocked up to the apartment block next door.
We were let in the same time as the night before, and had the same table, however this time, Holly started earlier, and her set was shorter.
Carl played the same set as the night before, however he had Ben Edgar in his band (guitarist) this time. I really rate Ben, he seems so lovely, and he is an amazing guitarist.
Carl talked about the forum again, even giving the address a shout out (he did get it wrong, but I corrected him...loud enough for the whole room to hear), so hopefully some people from the gig will come check it out.
Tonights crowd was a lot smaller, but we still waited til last for the signing, Ash came and joined us at our table across the room from the signing, wished us all happy valentines, and discussed Carl's previous love for the Krispy Kreme in Penrith (thats my neck of the woods haha).
By now, I'd spent more than enough time hogging the man, so Amanda and Ma had their turn to give gifts and the like. Carl told a very lame joke about Ashley blowing the s*** out of a trumpet haha, and we got photos, before Amanda went to give roses to the other band members.

We started to wind up the night, and the topic of conversation got back to me. Carl will be a self help guru in his next life, I'm sure of it. He said he enjoys when we go to shows, because he knows if the crowd isn't very reponsive, he can focus on us, because we always will be putting in and getting in to it.
We said our final goodbyes, and left.





Thredbo Jazz Festival – 1st & 2nd May 2010 – Amanda-Renee’s review

day 1:
mum and me left for thredbo at 7.30am on friday morning, had numerous stops at golbourn, queanbeyan, cooma and then thredbo. arrived about 2.00pm. picked the keys up and settled into our room, had a nap then got up and had a shower and got dressed. went for a walk and decided to check out the first band of the festival admirals own, walking into the bar completely oblivious to the fact that it was a navy band ( really should have kknown from the title of the band) and who should be in there watching none other then Mr Riseley himself haha watching the band and enjoying a few beverages i was sooooo embarressed as i really didn't think or expect i would run into him so soon, and i had promised jacki cooper ( john morrision's wife ) only hours before that i wouldn't stalk carl hehe on facebook.
i casually went to the bar and got mum and i a drink and sat at a table when Carl came over and said yay you got here how was your drive etc. and gave me a massive bear hug saying how much he has missed me/ us. he proceeded to tell us that the guys in the band were all guys he used to play with including one of he's good friends chris ellis which he later introduced us to at he's own gig.
admirals own finished and carl said him and ryan were off to get some dinner and had we eaten to which i replied no we hadn't and he asked if we would like to go have dinner with them at beteni's but as inviting as the invitation was i declined as i didn't think it would be appropriate for me to accept ( the whole fan/ celebrity thing played on my mind along with g/f's and b/f's might have a problem with it if they found out) so they left and me and mum stayed and watched the following band E type which was really good.
when they finished ihad every intention of watching of staying and watching jacki cooper and john morrison but they didn't start until 11.30pm and i was buggered so we went back to the room and went to bed so ended day 1.
Day 2:

got up about 8.30am had some breakfast and a shower, got dressed and we proceeded up to the village square and watched the kirrawee big band, they were awesome and full of some really talented young musicians and singers all between 15 and 17 years of age. they done some amazing versions of just havn't met you yet, home, blame it on the boogie, and a great version of supercallafragilisticexpyallydocious. really thougroughly enjoyed their performance. when the finished we proceeded down to the pooside venue and watched the other headlining act barbra morrison from the usa. she was amazing and she was just effortless in her performance she done some amazing standards like you don't know me , walk on by, thats all and a great version of never let me go.she was amazing and the swing dancers were going off in her performance they to were briliant and barbera herself kept cutting in the various partners asking for a dance. she was a real entertainer.
after that we went back to the room and had some lunch and i done a twitter update only to relise that carl had been looking for me as he hadn't seen me all day i tweeted back where i was but never recieved a tweet back.
finished our lunch and went up to the schuss bar to watch jacki cooper and john morrison they were good and they had a few young musicians and singers play with them one of the singers was awesome but the other one litterally hurt my ears she actually reminded me a bit of lisa mitchell ewww.
went back to the room and had some dinner and got ready to go to CARL'S 1ST GIG of the festival. got there and set up the video camera it was quite a big turn out for he's event which i was really happy about but luckilly i didn't have any beers as the people behind us were being so rude chatting the entire way through it. even the old ladies in front of us kept looking behind with anger on there face.

set list was
hello dolly
( proceeded to tell he's idol story and also talked about a special fan in the crowd that has followed him ever since Amanda-renee and he thanked me and everyone was staring and i got all embarressed and a tear started forming as i was touched as well as embarressed)
on the street where you live
tenderly
let's fall in love
got to get you into my life
don't get around much anymore
my funny valentine
it had to be you
thats all

set 2:
all of me
caravan
basin street
bourbon street no bill bailey though
minnie the mermaid which almost the entire room got into and he embarressed these 4 poor band students by getting them on the stage to demonstrate the actions hehe
then he invited the school big band to get on stage and play the remainder of he's set with him.which included
the letter
lido
the girl from ipanema ( which he said he was trying to work the lyric so it would be the girl from wollongong but it didn't fit which got me embarressed once again and which i later told him could have worked if he done the girl from the illawarra hehe)
and finished with reminiscing

was a really great gig and a few people up for a standing ovation which was awesome , waited with ryan whilst carl chatted to the band students and their parents and gave ryan the flyers for the forum which he said where awesome and he would leave them on the table with the cd's and postcards.

finally carl came over and asked how the gig was and proceeded to give more giant bear hugs and introduced us to he's friend chris ellis who asked how i knew carl and i said i'm the stalker fan since idol and carl said your not a stalker ive told you that. anyway got our photo's and carl ad chris were going for a drink they asked us if we were doing anything and we were like nah just going back to the room we're tired. so we said our goodbyes and so concluded day 2.
day 3:

again woke at 8.30am and done the usual morning routine and once again proceeded up to the village square and started the day once again with the kirrawee school big band they had a similar setlist as the day before but there were a few changes.
then once again we proceeded down to the poolside and watched the gospal choir with reverend amando hurley and louise perryman band. and i tell you what if church was more like that i would deffinately be more keen to go, jazz versions of he's got the whole world in he's hands, oh happy day, and other various uplifting music. i was just a very feel good vibe throughout the whole poolside and the whole crowd was praising hallalulla's the whole way through the set. he was amazing.
that gig finished and next one was CARL RISELEY AND THE STATEPUBLIC SCHOOLS BIG BAND WAAHOO!!! me and mum once again got front and ceneter position and set up the video camera again and we had a spare seat at our table so who should come and sit with us CARL!!!!! he was doing he's vocal warm up exersices and the horse blowing noises and was singing songs like moon river, lets fall in love and lido to warm up and he pulled my ear and said your not recording this are you to which i replied no but i was in hesterics pretty much the whole time and i was as nervous as nothing else having him right there and when he grabbed my ear i literally had chills the entire way down my spine.
the band started playing some of their songs first and then they said after this next song we will be inviting our special guest onto the stage to which carl said i wonder who that is and i said yeah me to i don't see anyone special around here to which he pulled a sad face and i said i'm only joking and he just smiled with the sparkling puppy dog eyes just glimmeriing in the sunshine. he asked wether i thought it would be rude if he wore he sunglasses during the performance and i siad no it's a bright day and he said yeah but i prob shouldn't wear them so as to interact more with the audience so i just agreed with him. so he left the sunglasses and he's bottle of water at the table and got up to perform.
similar set as the night before but mid way through he said that there was a special musician in the band who was having their 16th birthday today so he got him out on a chair and john morrrison yelled out and said 16 and never been kissed so Carl said well who's the closest female Amanda-renee get up here and give the young boy a kiss. well i could have died i was like oh carl you are gonna pay for this big ime mister but i entered into the spirit of things and gave the young boy alex a kiss on the cheek. then carl proceeded to sing happy birthday in a westy style fashion. the gig finished and we waited again at the chair for some time but carl left leaving he's glasses and water behind so we gave them to ryan and ryan said he would forget he's head if it wasn't screwed on. ( made sense as earlier carl said he lost he's trumpet stand somewhere and he must have left it at a gig possibly bennetts lane) so he had to lay the trumpet on it's case.
went back to the room and had lunch again.
then went to the thredbo showcase which was a concert full of the weekends musicians carl was sitting 2 rows infront of us and i'm not sure but i think it may have been jacki coopers 2 little girls were sitting with him and he kept looking at them and then looking away which caused them to laugh and play with him he looked like such great father material and he just had a glow around hhim when he was interacting with the kids. when the showcase finshed me and mum went up to the schuss bar to watch jacki and john once again and i tweeted carl asking him if he got the tweet to come up so i could say goodbye as he was chatting to a couple of girls when we left the showcase and i didn't want to butt in. he came up to the schuss bar but he didnt get my tweet and he said he was going for dinner again and asked if we had had dinner and wanted to go but again we declined but i said can you come back when your finished so i can say goodbye and he said yeah just tweet me where you are and i'll come back.
continued watch jacki and john in a somewhat small crowd as most poeple had left and jacki said i could probly introduce everone in this room so she named all of us ( i think i got just as many introductions as the actually proformers this weekend)
they finished and mum and me stayed and watched louise perrymans band and had a few more drinks, the band was awesome as she played more disco type songs as opposed to the jazz we had heard all week and all the die hard festival goers where there partying hard and dancing away. they finished at 10.30pm and still no sign of carl we went back to our room and went to bed and i was somewhat upset that i never got to give carl an actual goodbye hug which i'm still kinda gutted by as it made the end of a great weekend kinda depressing and upseting for me. but i'll be ok theres always next time.



RFDS Wings For Life Birthday Ball, SA – 15th May 2010 – Jodie & Amanda-Renee’s review

Here is Jodie and Amanda's combined AdelaideAirportNetCafe review of the RFDS Ball last night.

The day began early for both of us, with our flight leaving Sydney at the bright, early time of 6.30am. The flight was uneventful apart from the ladyboy, who we're still a LITTLE confused about.

We checked into our hotel, had a nap, and decided a trip to Rundle Mall was on the cards. We were cruising through the mall, when who should Jodie spot, bar Ryan, casually walking next to Mr Riseley. We stopped and said hi, and had a quick chat about where they staying (The rich b*tch hotel), and about how excited Carl seemed for the show, and to play with a big band. Carl's phone rang, with a blocked number, Jodie told him it was her calling...he believed her....til he answered the call, and found out it was his health club hahah! We said goodbye, and continued our trip through the mall. We visited Augusta the pig, who Amanda was VERY disappointed to discover was not a REAL pig, but a statue of a pig....(why would there be pigs in Rundle Mall? - Jodie). We carried on to Target for some "Essentials" shopping...(IE; hollywood tape and chicken fillets!) before making a pit stop at the convience store for some Snack foods...and lunch.

Amanda went to visit her relatives, Jodie slept some more, before getting ready for the RFDS Wings For Life Birthday Ball. Getting ready involved a LOT of fussing over Jodie's hair, a last minute dress change by Amanda, and LOTS of complaints about walking in high heels.

We caught a taxi to the venue and realised that we were in fact, VERY early (Amanda never changed her phone from NSW time!!!!!) But, we stuck around, and admired the roof of the Entertainment centre, and Jodie attempted to climb the giant star out the front - minus her shoes, and in a dress.

Eventually doors opened and we were let into the Auditorium, we were seated in the second row of tables, on the far right, with a perfect view of the stage, as well as of certain people walking past our tables (If you catch my drift...). Dinner was uneventful and not very tasty, but, with free wine, beer and softdrink, we weren't complaining. We decided we'd do the right thing, and contribute $20 to the lucky dip thing, and both won bottles of wine, which we left on our table...for the drunks surrounding us. As we were walking to do this, who should we bump into but Mr Riseley, once again, who apparently was looking for us, after reading Jodie's tweets about where we were, and to come dance. (Jodie's big mistake number 1). He decided he was going to buy a lucky tip do, and he disappeared, and came back with Ryan in toe. Ryan was wearing "half a suit", and his wedding shoes, which were, sneakers. We decided to head back to the table and enjoy the big band who were playing with a lady named Liz Tobias.

Later on, when Amanda was filling out raffle tickets, we noticed Carl was dancing on the dance floor with a young lady, then began dancing on his own, much like one would expect to see in the middle of a mosh pit. So, Jodie grew some balls, and went up, and asked the young man to dance.
And what a dance it was. Have you ever seen Peter Garrett dance? Thats about the only thing we can liken it too, just with a bit more coordination, and a lot less baldness.

Some Cougar approached both of us and two other girls we were dancing with, commenting that there was a "fine young gentleman" we could dance with rather than ourselves, but before we could bring him into our little circle, an even older lady, commented to Carl that we did not know how to dance to this music, because its "old" music. So what does Amanda do? She steals this ladys older, distinguished husband, and dances with him, including, twirls, and spins, but no dips!! She also danced with this old lady, and I think showed her that she DOES indeed know how to dance to this music. Amanda; 1 Old lady; 0.

We went back to our table and were hassled by the other people sitting with us. They were under the impression we were "stalkers" and were constantly asking inappropriate questions about Carl's personal life, hotel rooms, and whether we sit outside his house. Apart from this, the people on our table were lovely, except I was a little worried the girl in the white dress, was going to flash part of her body to us, her dress was that revealing.

Carl came through the crowd, and had everybody up dancing by the end of the first song. We have the set list, we'll take photos of it for you later. It was so refreshing to see Carl so relaxed, and having such an obviously good time on stage. He played 2 sets, finishing around midnight, when they started ushering everybody out of the room. We had been told by Ryan previously to stick around because Carl had something he wanted to tell us. So we did. We told about 5 security guards that Ryan and Carl had told us to stay, and they were starting to get VERY shirty when we were the last people in the room, apart from the staff. Ryan and Carl came back out and we explained that we were about to be booted, but the problem was, we were actually sharing a taxi with them back to the hotels (Which were about 200m apart), and couldn't leave til they did. So, Ryan and Carl took us back to his dressing room to wait for the taxi to arrive, and so Mr Riseley could spend about 15 minutes getting his stuff together (He is worse than a woman!!!) Amanda stole his dressing room sign, and we left.

The taxi ride was perhaps the funniest thing that has happened to us in a while. We were subjected to Carl's stories about $34.50 "Dorras" and about the ladyboys in Redfern at some Thai restaurant. Ryan assured us that Carl may not be drunk, but simply delirious, and also referred to him as the Cadbury Kid (Glass and a half and you're gone!). The taxi driver, who had already been asked if he knew any ladyboys, sushed Carl, but all it did was turn him a little bit more serious, asking Jodie if she was eating vegetables (oops...).

So, we arrived at Carl's hotel, and Carl was too busy talking to this poor taxi driver, so it was left to Jodie and Ryan to unload the boot (Full of CARL'S stuff might I add...) and move everything inside, helped by everybody bar the person who actually owned the stuff. Carl FINALLY emerged from the taxi, and started a conversation with two elderly couples who were waiting to get in our cab. He was telling them how great the band was tonight, but they were completely oblivious to who he was, so it was just really amusing for us.

We moved into the lobby and sat down at some tables (Last time Jodie was in this particular hotel, she wasn't allowed into her friends room...so she is well acquainted with these tables!!), Ryan decided it was past him bed time, so he disappeared off to his room leaving us with Carl, after giving Carl a stern reminder NOT to cause any mischief. Needless to say, we decided these warnings didn't cover us, but probably should have.

He told us what he needed to tell us, and then we were just having a bit of a chat about what had been happening. He yet again enquired as to whether Amanda was engaged, to which she smartly responded "It's not likely to happen, unless you propose to me". To which, he just stared, a little lost. We showed him the video on Jodie's phone that someone has put on youtube using the video of Carl performing the Last Post, but dubbed with a REALLY bad version somebody else has done. He found this absolutly hilarious, and watched it twice...then watched himself actually performing the last post. (Lucky Jodie has 1gb internet data per month on her phone!!).

About 45 minutes after we arrived, Carl decided it was his bed time, so we quickly got photos, and autographs etc etc and left back for our hotel. We arrived back at about 2.20am, and decided it was the latest we'd stayed out after ANY Carl gig so far, and by far the funniest gig we've attended.

We got back to the hotel room, laughed at some of Carl's stories, and the nights events, before retiring to bed, rising early to head to the airport to write this review. Morning consisted of, again retelling the stories, and recounting them to Jodie's mother, who the humour was lost on, guess you had to be there, but we're both laughing as we type this now...



Twin Towns, NSW – 20th July 2010 – Jodie & Amanda-Renee’s review.

So after spending a relaxing 4 days in Surfers Paradise - including a few games of bowling (With Jodie the deadset loser), and a trip to Movieworld (JODIE MET BATMAN!!!, and Amanda fell for The Flash), it was time to head down to Twin Towns (Which ironically is in NSW...the little sign on the side of the road says so), to watch Carl perform alongside the Ashley Lewis Band and Craig Berry for the "Great American Songbook" show.

We arrived at the venue about 9.30am, and who should we notice, bar Mr Lewis himself in reception, holding a bag big enough to house a dead body. We went and played the pokies to entertain ourselves, but we came up with not one win between us .

Upon entering the showroom we quickly established that we were by far the youngest people there. Pretty sure EVERY other person either was gray, or had a nanna blue rinse in their hair.

The show began right on 11am, with Craig Berry and Ashley performing a few numbers, Ash even got his chance to have a bit of a sing. The band consisted of Ash on Trombone and Westy (Aka Sheik Mah Deick), on drums.

Carl came onstage for his half hour set, noticing straight away that we were front and centre (it wasn't hard to notice...there was only 4 other people in the entire front row.)

He performed a mix of Standards, opening with Hello Dolly. Just before he performed When I Fall In Love, he decided that he needed to get the audiences perspective of the band, so he jumped off stage, and came and sat next to Jodie, admiring Ashley as he did. He got Ashley to count in the song, because he forgot the name of it, getting a good laugh from the crowd. He also performed (In no particular order); Time After Time, Tenderly, Fly Me To The Moon, All Of Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, before closing with It Had To Be You.

Craig Berry came back onstage to finish It Had To Be You alongside Carl, before pointing out that Carl had some fans in the front row (Meaning Jodie and Amanda), so Carl came right to the edge of the stage, and motioned for us to get up, so that he could give us a cuddle before he went offstage.

Craig and Ashley performed some more - with Ash doing an absolute cracker version of Sway. Carl joined Ash and Craig on stage for a rendition of Minnie The Mermaid, before closing the show with Caravan, with an awesome drum solo courtesy of Aaron West.

After the show, as people were leaving, two old ladies stopped to ask Amanda and Jodie if they normally get up to kiss the entertainers. We assured them, that no, we only get up to kiss Carl ha ha.

Everybody left and there was a small crowd of people waiting to say hi to Carl/Craig. Once the crowd had disappeared, Carl came over to say hi. Hugs and kisses were dished out, as were stories about Batman, the town of Tugun, and Michael Buble impersonations.

Ashley came to join Carl, and they both had a good look through the photobooks that Jodie and Amanda coincidentally made for each other for their respective birthdays. Ash also told us how he only found out this morning that we were coming along, when Carl told him on the way to the venue that "The girls" would be there.

Carl told us how he auditioned for a job at Movieworld dressing up as one of the characters, assuring us he needed no padding to fill out the costume (Ash believed he may have needed a pair of socks, but thats a different story.)

Craig Berry came out to say hi to us, and take a couple of photos, and had a good laugh at our innuendos about the town Tugun (Which is actually pronounced "Tew-gun" but we were pronouncing "Tuggin")

Photos were taken, and goodbyes were said as Carl had to get a flight home this afternoon.

So we stopped for some McNuggets, and now, we're here...writing this.



Spirit Of The Land Festival Lockhart, NSW – 9th October 2010 – Amanda-Renee’s review

jodie drove to my house and we left for our road trip to lockhart at about 9.30am, stopped at goulborn and then at gumly gumly where the sold exotic flavoured condoms which we debated may or not be an idea to get for the trip, but being the lovely streight laced people we are we decided it wouldn't be appropriate HAHA!!!
got to the house we stayed at at about 2pm it' was a loevly little cottage but we were a little desterbed that all the books in the bookcase where murder novels and the dvd's that were left for us to watch were all alfred hitchcock, we were kinda like OK then.
we both tried to ring our parents etc but realised that lockhart has no phone signal what so ever, so we decided to go for a walk to maybe look for a telephone. NO TELEPHONES!!!
we continued our walk and followed the signs to the showground where Carl was going to be performing to check it out, whilst walking up we found a park with a humourous sign saying PLAYGROUND needless to say it was an empty circle of woodchips ( will post a pick soon) HAHA!!! this town was classic.
we decided it was to far to walk to the showground so we went back to the house and got the forby and drove up for a look around and it was packed ( 20 people 18 which were volenteer workers) we though gee hope the crowd is a little better tonight.
we went home again and got ready and went back and who should we bump into streight away but MR RISELEY and he's saxaphonist SKIPPY BRADSHAW ( it's actually kenneth bradshaw but he is famous for he's skippy dance moves)
chatted to them for a while , and found out that carl has been really sick with a sore throat all week, and he was litterally dying in he's throat but being a showman he had to show up for the show he committed to being in Carl then got dragged off for he's celebrity press comittments. so we went and found our seats ( front stage of course) and waited for lisa edwards band to finish.
finally Carl and he's band started setting up and started singing a few songs getting half way through them before stopping to which the crowd was a little unsure of , but then he informed us that it was just the soundcheck rehersals and pretend we havn't heard anything. they got sorted a little more and Carl came and sat with us again for a bit. then he said lets do this.
6.30pm and the show starts Carl performing he usual set of songs, eg hello dolly, let's fall in love, reminiscing etc, oh and of course THE GIRL FROM WOLLONGONG, again hehe i think that will forever remain the joke since the thredbo gig.
but there was a lot of kids and young single ladies up danicing , to which Carl got some of he's band members to go and dance with including SKIPPY.
show finished at 8pm and there was quite a few people upset as the promotional material said Carl was gonna be playing from 6pm til 11pm but like Carl said what band has a 5hr setlist plus the fact he was dying he was kinda like they were lucky to get a show at all.
anyway at the end of the gig me and jodie were waiting around the back near the fence backstage to say hi and ask him how he felt etc and he said girls what you doing standing there come here ( telling us to come backstage) we chatted again for a bit and he was saying that all throught the performance he was in agony, and he like did you hear this note and that note?) and we were like yeah you could tell you were struggling but you done really well.
anyway they were gonna head back to the ex services club in lockhart and they asked us if we would like to come so we said yeah, so we helped the boys carry there crap to the car to which Carl got bombarded again by people saying how disapointed they were with how short the set wasand they were trying to convince him to come and sign at their campfire with them and he's like nah i can't ladies iv'e got a long drive back home and they are like oh are you going home tonight and he's like yeah so they let him go.
we got back to the ex servo's and there was a very unorganised conversation of how they are going to get there stuff back to the house they were staying in etc, and we offered to take it but the guy ended up taking Carl to dump the stuff at the house and brought him back.
Carl, John and Skippy had dinner and asked us if we would like anything and we were like nah man were fine. so they ate and we watched ( carl didn't eat much as it was full of gluten) anyway we chatted for ages well tenically carl and john chatted for ages mostly about planes, gliders etc, with a couple of funny anicdotes about different bad circumstances they have been in whildt flying etc.
the club propierter came through to lock up and said where did you guys come from, he didn't even realise we were in the club haha, anyway we mossied out to the actually bar where Carl was bombarded once again by people who where upset by the early finish of the gig, to which he just said he knew nothing of the times stated and he's gigs usually go for and hour and a half which is what they got.
me and jodie were watching the swimming and talking about the bodies mainly emon sullivan and Carl was saying how they were trying to get a physique like he's then i said if raphael nadal was a swimmer it would look good and he goes nah man he's to short and i said not for what i want him for to which he looked kinda weird at me about. ( it's not as is Carl is the only guy i'm attracted to and maybe it's about time he knew that HAHA) otherwise i may leave him LOL NEVER!!!!
anyway final drinks was called and we decided to leave but first we had to get some happy snaps of carl, john and skippy etc.
anyway we offered the boys a lift and at first they were going to walk but then decide nah they will get a lift, when we unlocked the car Carl made a comment about we can leave the underwear in the backseat he doesn't mind as we through a few items ( NOT UNDERWEAR) into the back part of the forby. we drove them to where they were staying, Carl getting us ever so slightly lost in the process. finally we found out where they were staying and Carl said he wanted to the door service so i drove the forby up the gutter and along the lawn right up to the door and he goes holy F*** how's that for service ( he was slightly inebriated) we said are you sure this is the house and he said yes that my bedroom right there girls pointing to the open blinded window. and i was like cool we will go dump the car and be back later hehe. we said our goodbyes and went home.
when we got home pretty much went streight to bed but i was exhausted but i was sooooooo happy all the day happiest i have been since everything with mum. Carl gigs are deadset my happy place i know that i will never be at a gig and feel upset, angry or depressed it's just me, him and the music and i love the way i feel when Carl is around he always makes me smile without fail.
anyway long trip home we stopped at wagga wagga for macca's breaky and then at marulan for petrol and got home about 12.30pm.

• in all the converstaions we did have we have no news on a new cd, any other gigs, or a Carl chat because truth be known none of the convo's were really about Carl as such but just random everyday topics, eg flying and swimming so we can't report nothing sorry guys.



Spirit of the Land Festival Lockhart, NSW – 9th October 2010 – Jodie’s review

The weekend started for me with a very early wake up call (I’m talking before 7am haha), so I could make sure I had everything I needed and get ready for the trip to Lockhart.

I left home at 7:30am, with the first stop being Wollongong. I was a bit apprehensive about the drive, being I’ve never driven that far south before, so wasn’t too sure of where I was going, and I’d never driven that far by myself at all. I arrived safely, with only minor speed camera scare, and soon we were on our way to Lockhart.

The drive there consisted of catching up, singing along to the iPod, and making fun of the town names we saw. We made a stop at Golbourn, so I could see the big sheep, and so we could get some lunch at probably the worst McDonalds in existence. Our drive continued, with the next stop being a random little petrol station in a town called Gumly Gumly. This was the last time we were to have phone signal until we returned today. We headed further and further west, until, we reached the town of Lockhart, population 850.

We quickly found our home for the night – a quaint little house called “The Little Rose Cottage”. The house was beautiful, and provided pretty much everything you needed to stay there. We were a little concerned by the choice of literature and viewing in the house, but – as you can tell, we were concerned about nothing.

After a quick change we headed for a walk to find the showground, we walked through the main street of town, and through a little park, which provided us with great amusement about their “playground” for the kids. We reached the end of the park, and decided that it was too far to walk to find the showground – being that we didn’t know where we were going, so we headed back to pick up the car and go exploring.

We found the showground, and stopped for a quick look around, sussed out the stage and set times, and had a quick squiz at what was going on, but being that we were roughly three hours early for Carl’s set, we decided to head back to our house for a bit so we could properly get ready and make sure we had cameras and jackets etc.

Arriving back at the venue at about 4pm, we were walking along aimlessly when I spotted Carl and his friend, Ken (who for the remainder of this review shall be known as “Skippy”), standing near the juice stand. Carl stood out like a bit of a sore thumb being he was the only person there in trousers and a long sleeved business shirt. After me not so subtly yelling out “CARL”, he turned around, and we had a bit of a chat (And a cuddle of course). None of the conversation focused around music, which in a way was a little refreshing. He introduced us to Ken, who was quite the funny character, and told us quite proudly how he flew the plane to Lockhart, and how John turned it 70 degrees when they went in to land, after they scared the sheep.

We were escorting Carl to see the “Bondi Babe” (A topless metal sculpture, where we’ve been assured theres photos of Carl grabbing her er… assets), when a volunteer interrupted us and said that she needed Carl for press stuff, which we were fine with, even though she was most apologetic to us as she thought she was being rude, so we left to go and get seats for the show.

During this time we met the organiser, Sue, who I’d been in correspondence with for a while to make sure our tickets and things were organised, and she told us how hot she thought Carl was when she first met him, we couldn’t disagree.

Our seats were prime in the front row, and in fact...we were the only ones in the front row. Carl came out to start his soundcheck, and after setting up his microphone he came into the crowd to sit with us for a bit, and to be our personal sun blocking shield. Eventually, Skippy and John arrived, and Carl went to complete his soundcheck, where he had many in the crowd (us included), wondering whether it was the actual start to his set, or whether it was just a warm up, as he and the band were playing full songs. We quickly established it was a soundcheck, and went about making up our own lyrics to the songs as he sung them (The skys in love with you anyone? Go on, try it, it sounds just like the original haha).

Eventually, it was time for the set to start, and after two Count Basie instrumental pieces by the band, Carl came onto the stage to raucous applause, and a few screams courtesy of Amanda. He performed a set much like the ones he does at his own shows, with the exception of the originals. He had the crowd dancing by the third song, and even had the band dancing with the crowd, before he himself came down for a dance. Skippy showed us his kangaroo dance (jumping up and down on the spot), hence being christened “Skippy”.

Although at times we could tell Carl seemed to be struggling because of his throat, I think we were the only ones who noticed, and the town seemed quite impressed by Carl’s talent, just like we are time and time again. The night ended with Carl joining the crowd for Lido Shuffle, and Sue dragging Amanda and I up to him for a dance, and a photo, which she is going to email me, although I don’t think any of us were actually looking at the camera.

So the gig finished soon after, and the majority of the crowd dispersed to their campervans/tents, whilst we went and waited for Carl to finish packing up. He spotted us standing near a gate marked with a giant “NO ENTRY” sign, and he yelled out for us to come in, and asked what we were doing out there. I mean, no one assumes that a gate that says “NO ENTRY” actually means no entry do they?

We spent about 15 minutes in the “backstage” area, talking about the gig, and organising to go back to the local pub afterwards. We assisted with the carrying of equipment back to the car, and met two very friendly ladies who were travelling around Australia by themselves – their desire and determination for the trip was astounding, and they were two ladies with a lot of stories and anecdotes to share. A few people were heckling Carl about the short set list (they were expecting five hours worth), and kept questioning why he wouldn’t come sing around their campfire. Carl, being ever the professional, politely told him he had a long drive home, and had to get going.

We went our separate ways, meeting up shortly after in the local RSL, whilst the boys enjoyed a Chinese feed, in a restaurant that looked as if it had been held open especially for us. The night was spent recalling some stories of Carl’s navy days, and John’s experiences with seemingly everything, (he came across as a very intelligent and funny man, he knows a lot about a lot of things), and just general chit chat – including one rude moment, which won’t be repeated here, because it involved childish school girl giggling at a play on words.

The barman came into the restaurant to close it up for the night, not even realising we were there, but luckily saw the funny side of the situation, and we moved into the bar whilst a couple of drinks were had, and Carl and the boys had a chat to a few of the locals. At this time, Amanda and I thought it to be more than appropriate to check out the male swimmers swimming in the medley relay.Carl came over, and declared that they were trying to look like him with the muscle they had.

The barman called last drinks and slowly everyone had left the RSL bar us, so photos were taken, with some interesting results, and we finally left to head our separate ways to our houses. I asked Carl if he knew where he was going, to which he said no, so we decided we’d give them a lift back.

Luckily Lockhart’s police weren’t out in force, because bad behaviour involving lack of seatbelts occurred in the backseat with Carl, myself and skippy, and a slight game of corners ensued, as did getting lost, and getting blown away with the airconditioner after Captain John Morrison adjusted all the controls on the panel haha.

We found their house, and Carl, being the giant diva he is, demanded door service…so Amanda, being the professional driver she is, drove that four wheel drive up the gutter, and over the walkway, to the front door of the house. Carl was most impressed with this service, and pointed out his bedroom before goodbyes were said, and we went our separate ways.

As soon as we got back to our house, it was bed time, before we awoke a mere six hours later to start our drive back to Sydney. We made a quick stop in Wagga Wagga to get breakfast, and then another in a town I can’t remember the name of, before making it back to Amanda’s. I was back in Sydney about an hour and a half later, still reminiscing about the night before, and the good times had.