Black Rock Katzenjammers once again did Tobago proud by showing that they are ready to defend their national Panorama Medium Band title when they took the first place in the preliminary round of the competition.

The Black Rock band playing an Edwin Pouchet arrangement of "This Is Bacchanal" was in ripping form last week Saturday night at their spanking new pan theatre. Playing before a large crowd, the reigning national medium band champion did not disappoint as they 'put down wuk'.

When the dust cleared, Katzenjammers scored 263 points to top the National Prelims.

NLCB Buccooneers with 257 points and Carib Dixieland, West Side Symphony and Steel Xplosion all tied with 241 points for 10th place overall in the national competition. All five Tobago medium bands will travel to Trinidad for the national semi-finals.

Scarborough based Our Boys was mysteriously left out of the national semi-finals. The youthful band was the only one to use a Tobago-born arranger in the person of Anslem 'Moon' Campbell and set tongues wagging with a thrilling display of pan artistry at their Fort Street panyard. It was a big shock to many pan lovers when the judges' points for the band were only 233 points.

Meanwhile, Tobago Panthers based in Golden Lane was placed first in the Tobago Conventional steelband category with 241 points. T&TEC New East Side New Dimension came in second with 226 points while Central Symphony with 207 points edged first timers Uptown Fascinators and C& B Cordians 205 points each.

Panthers worked up a storm with their interpretation of the Grand Master Kitchener's 'Pan in a Minor'. T&TEC East Side who dominated the Tobago steel band competition from the mid 1970s to 1980s has signaled a revival with their second place finish scoring 226 points. They will join Tobago Panthers as the Tobago representative in the national semi-finals in Port of Spain on Sunday.

Pan Trinbago's Tobago Region Chairman Jeffrey Joseph was elated about the massive turnout of patrons to the pan yard judging last week Saturday. He told the Tobago News, "something beautiful is happening with our carnival arts in Tobago and we must identify it and make it prosper." He said, "there will be an expanded presence of steel bands on the streets on carnival days; we will be pumping more money into the road competitions, the Monday Night Bomb competition and the carnival Tuesday road competitions.