"Everyone was quite shocked," Heveldt said. "There were audible gasps."
Carr only made one joke about it, saying something along the lines of: "Looking on the plus side we're all a little cooler now as the coolest man on Earth just died."
Heveldt says the crowd shared a round of applause for Bowie, and the show continued on.
Another gig-goer in the crowd, Chris Philpott, also said Carr handled the news admirably.
"It was a nice touch at the end of the show, and, honestly, given how quickly news like this travels, and how all of us were on our phones at intermission, it would've been weird for him not to say something."
Philpott said Bowie's song Heroes was played as they left the auditorium.
Fans commented about the show on Twitter.
Bowie died after an 18-month secret battle with cancer yesterday, the same week that his new album Blackstar was released.
Carr's jokes have landed him in hot water in the past, including one made about dwarves late last year.
- nzherald.co.nz
