Another hot day in Central Texas brought the crowds in again for the last day of Float Fest. Sunday’s festivities were a lot more laid back after all the craziness that began the start of the fest on Saturday.
Moon Taxi was first up in the evening at the Sun Stage. There were scattered rain showers on the radar that barely missed the festival. Though a little rain would’ve been nice, it did bring in some clouds and a breeze to cool everyone off a bit. Fans were clapping along to songs like “All Day All Night” and “Red Ho Lights.” With “Morocco” being a pretty popular song by Moon Taxi, they had the crowd happily dancing around and singing along ‘Ohhhh, Morocco, tell me where you’ve been, won’t you tell me what you know.’ The music sounded like it was supposed to be by the beach or somewhere tropical. It was the perfect performance with the weather going on, nothing too crazy and nothing too simple.
Festival-goers rushed back to the Water Stage to catch MGMT bring their psychedelia to the stage. The visuals on the screen during their set were pretty insane. It was a mix between weird animated visuals and a glitchy haze that would appear on a ruined VHS tape, they definitely had the whole 90s video tape recorder aesthetic down. MGMT mentioned that their new album Little Dark Age should be out in the fall, they had even played a few songs from it too. Lead vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden set the mood for their performance with his black painted nails grazing over the guitar while his soft and sweet melodic voice brought a sense of calmness over the crowd. Besides playing a few newer songs, MGMT brought some older songs to the stage that made fans fall in love with them in the first place. The hit “Congratulations” from MGMT’s second album filled the air with its melancholic lyrics and dreamy chimes. “The Youth” came on and it was as if it played for the whole crowd since the majority was a younger generation. As expected, the band played “Time to Pretend” and “Kids,” both brought a bolt of excitement to the crowd. MGMT closed out with one of their most famous songs “Electric Feel,” fans were moving and twirling around to the stimulating beat
After a chilled-out performance MGMT put on, fans headed to the Sun Stage to see Cage The Elephant. This modernized 70s rock n’ roll band put out nonstop energy throughout their whole set. The Mick Jagger look-alike singer Matt Shultz is known to do some crazy things throughout their shows like jumping into the crowds, taking his shirt off or running around constantly. At this show Shultz indeed jumped into the crowd while being extremely hyper, he also chunked a wad of spit up in the air and caught it back in his mouth impressively. They started off heavily with “Crybaby” and kept the crowd consistently rocking out for the remainder of the time. Although most songs performed were a mix from Tell Me I’m Pretty and Melophobia, they did play a few off their first two records as well. When the jangly guitar began at the beginning of “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” the crowd knew exactly what was coming and sang along to the lyrics. There were glowsticks thrown, a huge hotdog floatie and a lit-up portrait of Honey Boo-Boo’s mom floating on a pole. During “Mess Around” both the band and the crowd were at the highest level of excitement. Huge blasts of fire went up on the stage, the heat could easily be felt from about forty feet away. Cage The Elephant is a one of a kind band not only from their insane performances, but also how unique their songs are and how they can go from very energetic to relaxed songs like “Trouble,” “Telescope” and “Cigarette Daydreams.”
Still hyped up from Cage The Elephant, fans made their way to the Water Stage to see the headliner of the night, Weezer. Fans who missed Weezer at this past South by Southwest were able to catch this spectacular performance from the 90s all-American rock band to end Float Fest. Singer Rivers Cuomo rocked the stage with a colorful striped t-shirt along with the Buddy Holly glasses, as expected. This was the biggest crowd of the entire festival, though it is Weezer of course so that is to be expected. The front of the crowd was up and pumped while the people further back were hanging out in the lawn, all chanting along to the songs they had been waiting to hear. The carnival rides were up and spinning with fans enjoying the scenery of the band from the back of the field. Weezer put together a performance from songs throughout their career. ‘Oh, come on and kick me’ shouted by the fans when Weezer performed their 2001 hit “Hash Pipe.” They did a cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” with slowing down the lyrics to get the crowd involved, ‘Now what’s cooler than bein’ cool?’ and the crowd shouted back ‘Ice cold!’ Along with playing older jams, they brought out a newer one off their White Album called “Thank God For Girls.” The crowd was ecstatic to hear them perform “Pork And Beans,” once the guitar at the beginning started off the song, everybody was twirling around and dancing. The upbeat “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You to” had fans on their feet rocking back and forth. Weezer put on a great performance to end the festival, leaving fans happy to get home to refresh after a long weekend of fun in the sun.
Float Fest day three was a day full of good performances, freezing floats in the San Marcos River and yummy treats from the food trucks. From the happy times Moon Taxi brought, the laid-back performance from MGMT, the wickedly hyper energy from Cage The Elephant and the rock Weezer brought to fans, Sunday was a successful end to Float Fest.
Photo Credit: Owen Ela
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