Moby's high-energy DJ set was only part of the attraction Saturday for those who wanted to party at the Carl Cox stage. (Christina Mendenhall / rhythmscene.com)

Saturday was the halfway point of the 13th annual ULTRA Music Festival. The attendance was relatively light until the late afternoon/early evening hours which probably meant that everyone was beat from Friday’s action-packed kickoff.

We started out in the Carl Cox tent and rockin’, screamin’ DJ Steve Aoki was on stage doing what he does best. People underneath the tent were packed like sardines and there were even more people spilling out into the Heineken station just to get a piece of the action. Anyone that couldn’t catch Steve’s performance missed out on a lot of banshee-like screaming coming through the constant wafting smoke from the stage. It was intense to say the least!

The Dutch powerhouse Afrojack (also known as Nick van de Wall) took over the reins from Aoki on the Carl Cox Stage. He came out to a mess of people chanting his handle. Before he started his set he told everyone that he was going to kick off with a track that no one had ever heard before. Unfortunately, he didn’t say what the name of it was!

Nevertheless it got everyone pumped and ready for the next song, which most everyone knew the lyrics to, called “Take Control”. He would mute his track during the chorus line and let the crowd sing it for him which they definitely got a kick out of. Afrojack had great energy during his two hour set and would always sing along with whatever track he was playing. After his set on the Carl Cox stage he went over to the Main Stage at 5:10 to give his fans some more. I have to admit that I wasn’t a big fan before but after seeing him live he has got me looking him up on iTunes.

More: Day 1: Miami takes on a sense of sensory overload | Day 3: Miami’s big party goes longer than ever, doesn’t skip a beat | Ultra photos: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Visit this writer’s website

At 4 p.m. the Grammy award-winning trio Dirty Vegas took the Heineken Dome stage to play a DJ set. They were totally into the tunes and the crowd was totally into them. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk to these three charming lads from across the pond so keep your eyes peeled for that interview!

This guy didn't have a ticket, so he tried to swim his way into Ultra via the adjacent canal. He got caught by security. (Christina Mendenhall / rhythmscene.com)

The place to be was the Carl Cox stage. I think people all over Miami knew it too because non-ticket holders wanted in bad. So bad in fact that one poor soul was crazy and desperate enough that he jumped into the Port of Miami from the American Airlines Arena and tried to swim over! Needless to say he didn’t make it too far before the Miami Police Department pulled him out but I give him an ‘A’ for effort.

Back to the action inside the Cox tent. It must have been Dutch Day because Fedde le Grand started in right after Afrojack left for the Main Stage. His fans came prepared with signs they held up in the crowd that said “WE LOVE FEDDE” with little hearts drawn in red marker. Fedde DJ’d for two hours — and then in came the man, the myth, the legend, Moby!

I almost don’t know where to start. Now, Moby isn’t a man of great physical stature but he certainly makes up for that with his ginormous musical genius and huge stage personality. When Moby starts his set, you know it’s Moby.

Only a few minutes in he actually climbed on top of the Gravitron-looking stage set and with his arms stretched out and pumping he screamed at the crowd with a look that was of “Let’s get this party started!” magnetism. In all the hours we have been at Ultra I have not seen one person do this – it was definitely brave!

He even took pictures of the crowd with his little camera (that he must really love because he was even using it and talking about it backstage).

Moby did an almost acrobatic jump off the stage top and continued his mixing. The sound was a full on melodic and beautiful trance sound that even penetrated the older, stoic security guard I was standing near who actually started to clap his hands! Even after decades Moby still knows how to get the crowd going and he demands their attention.

Kaskade was on the Main Stage in the early evening and got the crowd even more excited with giant white balloons and with his mega-hit song “Angel on My Shoulder”. I actually haven’t seen the Main Stage area as crowded as it was for that time of the day. They just kept pouring in to see the ultra-popular Kaskade (no pun intended).

Armin van Buuren came onto the stage after Kaskade and gave a touching musical and video tribute to the victims of the 2010 Love Parade tragedy where almost two dozen people were killed and over 500 were injured in a stampede. It was a very moving gesture and definitely made us appreciate our safety in large organized events such as this one.

Cut Copy took the Live Stage at 8:25 and after lead singer Dan Whitford asked how everyone was enjoying the festival he made the remark, “I think we overdressed”, referring to their tucked-in dress shirts and pants. This Aussie group sounded fantastic live and all of the band members were very expressive and energetic in their performances. I don’t think there was one person in that crowd that wasn’t dancing along to their tunes or singing their lyrics. Their set list included crowd favorites “Nobody Lost, Nobody Found” and “Lights and Music”. They ended their set and left the stage saying “Rave On!” to the fans.

Back on the Main Stage were the godfathers of electronic music, Underworld. People may not realize it but band mates Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have been recording music together for over 30 years now! They played to a huge crowd in their dark, mysterious and almost gothic-like atmosphere. Karl was dressed in a striped black and white, long sleeve shirt and black pants (almost as if he was inspired by Freddy Krueger’s getup) which only added to their creepy and intense stage presence. There were steady streams of thick smoke shooting out from the stage front while the lights would strobe before the stage would become almost completely black. Underworld’s unique combination of fast paced keyboard synth and deep bass beats was like the perfect combination of salty-sweet.

At 9:45, the glam-rock-pop-synth duo Empire of the Sun came onto the Live Stage. Throngs of people entered the area to catch a glimpse of almost indescribable band that is Empire of the Sun. If you want weird, flashy and trippy this group would probably make your life. There was such an insane number of people that they probably should have been on the Main Stage.

While watching the show I felt like I was on another planet … literally. They have a unique fantastic sound and I personally have listened to them on repeat on my iPod so I totally get the attraction of ULTRA-goers. Lead singer Luke Steele’s voice didn’t have quite the same sound as on studio recordings but it was still a great performance. Their first song was “Standing on the Shore” followed by “Halfmast”, “We Are the People” and “Swordfish Hotkiss Night”. I thoroughly enjoyed their show and can only hope that next year they are on the Main Stage!

The last performance on the Main Stage was Deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”). aka Joel Zimmerman. The anticipation for his show was only building throughout the day as more and more “mau5-heads” showed up at Ultra. People were wearing mouse ears, t-shirts, mouse head and face masks and paint on their bodies.

I wish I could tell you how the show was but we had a repeat of Friday night’s headliner security drama. We spent half the set being directed from gate to gate only to be told by security our access had been cut off and that we had to go to yet to another gate. So, with no chance at getting good photos for you and being so far away from stage sight to even give a good review we threw up our hands in defeat and called it a day. Let’s just call it “The Main Stage Headliner Curse”.

Day two of ULTRA was a musically fulfilling day and the party was non-stop at the Carl Cox and Live Stage. Sunday is the final day of the three day event so check back for updates on how the festival ends!