From Kingston to Negril and back.

Absolute Temptation Isle did not disappoint the thousands of patrons who turned out. The kick-off party at the Quad in New Kingston on Thursday, July 27 was a great predecessor for what was to come in Negril.

The patrons were taken on a roller coaster ride of musical selections from the likes of Bambino, Richie D and Renegade – who also played in Negril. The vibe first started in the early stages with the streaming of live music from Radio 105.com.

The party really started at minutes past 12 and from start to finish, the high-vibes pace never dwindled. As the venue slowly filled, the DJs took to the turntables to tease the patrons. They couldn’t get enough as the DJs masterfully alternated music from today with music from way back in the day.

Renegade got crazy ‘forwards’ for his mix of Spragga Benz’s Miss Jamaica, Tony Matterhorn’s Goodaz Fi Dem and QQ’s Stuckie with ABBA’s 1976 hit, Dancing Queen. Matterhorn’s Dutty Wine also got the crowd raving.

All in all, the event was a blast and at minutes past four, patrons could be seen leaving the Quad all ‘partied-out’.

From the Quad, it was on to Negril – 13 parties in five days. First Fridayz Flashback got things started on Friday, July 28 at Margueritaville, followed by Tempted – Delano from Renaissance Disco’s birthday party – at Jamaica Tamboo. Friday was a warm-up compared to the string of heated parties that took place from Saturday to Monday.

The first party on Saturday was Stages at the UDC Beach Park with music provided by Black Chiney, Renaissance, Xcaliber, DJ Renegade and Zip Jock Chrome. The highlight of this party came when Saschy from Xcaliber, out of Trinidad and Tobago, called the patrons to party on the stage. The event also featured premium food stations serving a wide range from soup to fish and chicken.

Next, the crowd made their way to ‘Colours’ which was staged at Mariners Beach Club.

The whole concept of ‘Colours’ was supposed to be about patrons getting painted, however, not all were able to join in the festivities that seemed confined to the front of the venue near the DJ booth. The DJs though, had a problem with the coloured powder that was being thrown around, citing that it could damage the equipment. Bambino, DJ Smoke from Renaissance and Kurt Riley were the resident DJs for ‘Colours’, which ended in the wee hours of the morning.

Despite all the partying so far, patrons retreated to their respective dwellings to get just enough sleep to be fully energised for the parties later that day – ‘Wildsides’ at Margueritaville, ‘Pretty in Pink’ at Mariner’s Beach Club, ‘Bikini and Shorts’ at Jamaica Tamboo and ‘Temperature’ at the Long Bay Beach Park.

By far the best of these four events were ‘Wildsides’ and ‘Pretty in Pink’. ‘Wildsides’ featured a foam pit, as well as water stations for those willing to get wet. Patrons were also treated to a surprise performance by Aidonia and giveaways of Pink Razr phones in anticipation of ‘Pretty in Pink’ later on.

Despite the great vibe, there were a few things that dampened the spirits of those present, at least until they reached the next party. After a while, neither Red Bull nor water could be had at any of the bars, to the annoyance of patrons. Another low point was the sight of a young gentleman being stretchered out of the venue by emergency personnel.

These did not have a lasting effect as patrons headed off to ‘Pretty in Pink’. There was another cell phone giveaway for the girl in the hottest pink outfit, while Zip Jock Liquid kept patrons in sweat dancing to his musical selections. This event ended at about minutes to five Monday morning.

‘Daydreams’ was staged later in the day at Long Bay Beach and was definitely a good experience for all those present. The food at this all inclusive event was sumptuous, especially the shrimp. The musical selection was also wonderful with the likes of Jazzy T from Renaissance, Peter T and Bambino.

Bambino definitely got the most forwards with his selections of TV show theme songs. The theme song for Spongebob Squarepants was a hit with the ladies present.

Even after most patrons had left the venue, a good amount remained seeming almost hypnotised by the music Bambino was playing. It took some time for them to leave to go to ‘Temptation Live’. It wasn’t all fun though as a little earlier, the mood was briefly interrupted by the sounds of gunshots in the crowd. The selector made an appeal for whoever did it to stop and it was later announced that the culprit was in police custody.

After ‘Daydreams’, all roads led to ‘Temptation Live’ at the UDC Beach Park and party-goers could be seen either walking or sitting in traffic on their way to the venue. A few enthusiastic gentlemen were also spotted racing with women on their backs to the venue as well.

‘Temptation Live’ was billed to be the ultimate live show and it did not disappoint.

The show featured a range of artistes from the upcoming Danielle to “the real big man” in the business, Elephant Man. Tony Matterhorn did not disappoint when he heralded that the water, the sea, the bushes and the trees, were getting too common and challenged the ladies present to take it to the Digicel sign on top of the stage. Unfortunately, no one seemed brave enough to take up his challenge.

Dem Franchise Boys also offered a good performance with hits such as Lean with it and ‘Let Your Shoulder Lean’.

At one point, though, patrons couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with Movado, as during his performance he kept asking the engineer to turn up his mic and saying that he was being sabotaged.

Other performers were Aidonia, Red Rat, Busy Signal, Dr Evil, Voice Mail along with many others. Angie Stone and Darrin Henson (Lem from Soul Food) also made an appearance where Stone performed a few words from her song Brotha.

Henson also revealed that he was in an accident recently as he showed the crowd his bandages. The Soul Food/BET Celebrity After Party followed at Risky Business.

The final event in Negril, ‘Fusion’ was held on Tuesday at Chances, after which, the mass of patrons that had descended on Negril for one crazy weekend of partying made their way home.

A lot of remixes were released at ATI in Negril with Supa Hype’s Negril Story, a follow up to Uptown Story being played at every party and getting massive ‘forwards’ every time. The sound system that definitely “took” ATI was Black Chiney with their racy remixes and large crowd approval. They never disappointed.

According to Alex Chin, CEO of Absolute Entertainment over 2,000 season bands were sold and “people realised that this was the real ATI.”

Corporal Dixon and Sargeant Williams from the Negril Police Station told the Sunday Observer that there were no reported cases of violence or accidents directly relating to ATI. They also stated that additional police officers from Savanna-la-Mar were brought in to maintain order.