UPDATE — Just a real quick update…I’ll write more in the next day or so:

• First of all, I was wrong about my pre-conceived notion of the crowd. I didn’t see a single instance of anti-Bush sentiment. It was in fact a very PRO Obama event rather than an anti-anything mood. My theory of Liberals only being “against” stuff and never “for” anything was wrong in this instance, as this crowd was in a happy and supportive mood.
• The crowd was immense. I waited in line outside the gates for about an hour before the gates opened and had the pleasure of meeting JC from the Peace Meme blog. It was a nice meeting, and we even had a brief moment to discuss some possible cross-blog collaboration.
• The first band that played before Sen. Obama appeared, Band of Heathens, was excellent. The crowd — while exceptionally diverse — was still predominantly college or college age kids (young adults, if you prefer). The youthfulness of Band of Heathens was a good way to connect to them.
• Cyril Neville (brother of the more famous Aaron Neville) played next. Cyril seemed to be a very angry and very bitter man over his experiences in New Orleans. He started his set by thanking everybody who donated so much money to the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Money that “never got to the people of New Orleans”. He then sang a song called “Give us back our money”. And during his comments, right after he accused the Red Cross of stealing his money, he seemed to be confused about where the headquarters of the Red Cross are…as he seems to thing it’s at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC.
• About the time Cyril started singing, it started raining. Lightly, but enough to soak you through. There was still an hour before Sen. Obama was slated to speak, but I didn’t really feel like standing in the rain to listen to a guy that I knew I wasn’t going to support anyhow. I remembered that Katz Deli was only a few blocks away, and knew they always had plenty of Irish whiskey and cold beer on hand. So I went there and had a few cocktails and a great patty melt instead of listening to Sen. Obama.
• Even though I didn’t see the senator, I was still impressed by the energy and the positive vibe from the crowd. There was none of the anger I’ve seen at too many protests. I haven’t seen this much buzz in Austin in sometime. I think Hillary should be very, very afraid.
• The sushi at Chinatown was magnificent, the company superb, and by the time I was ready to ride home, the rain had stopped and the roads had dried up.

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So, I’m on my way out the office door in about 5-minutes (god, but do I love half-day Fridays).

It’s only 11:30 a.m. here, and Sen. Barack Obama isn’t scheduled to start speaking at Auditorium Shores (an outdoor park on the banks of Town Lake in downtown Austin) until 3:00. The gates open at 12:30, and the crowds are expected to be overflowing.

I’m going to head over there and try to get in as soon as the gates open.

I’ll take plenty of pictures and post a recap when I get home this evening (well, after I go to a sushi/saki happy-hour that my lovely wife’s office mates are hosting in honor of her b-day, which is tomorrow).

Even though this is a pro-Obama presidential rally, and despite the fact that President Bush is not running in 2008, I’ll bet there is a ton of anti-Bush messaging, posters, and t-shirts amongst the large crowd — which will be entertaining, as all manifestations of BSD usually are.