Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove and Neal and Massy All Stars tied for first place in the national Panorama semifinals on Sunday evening at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain. Performing in positions no 9 and no 12, respectively, they both got 268 points for their renditions of "Archbishop of Pan" and "Play Yourself", respectively.

It was therefore the end of a drawn-out day when RBC Redemption Sound Setters from Tobago performed to a mostly empty stands in the wee hours of Monday morning, 2.30 a.m. to be exact. This was 17 hours after the start of the event dubbed by pan lovers as the "savannah party".

Strangely Gordon's arrangement of "Gie Dem Tempo" was good enough to better ten other performances on the night, putting Sound Setters in sixth place.

The large band category kicked off at 8.01 p.m. with a roar from the audience as CAL Invaders was announced. Their eight minutes of Arddin Herbert's arrangement of "You Know Ah Like It" set the tone for things to come.

Birdsong's sweet music arranged by Raf Robertson did very little to move the audience and the judges. But the shock of the night came in the form of bp Renegades with Duvone Stewart's arrangement of Ken Philmore/Mark Loquan/Destra Garcia's "Vibes". For many it was vintage Renegades.

PCS Silver Stars performed Edwin Pouchet's arrangement of his composition "Gie Dem Tempo" with energy not seen by any band for the day, the youthful members set out to entertain.

Republic Bank Exodus' tribute to T&T's Culture great Dr Pat Bishop (Aunty Pat) as arranged by Pelham Goddard showed how well rehearsed and disciplined they are.

Next up was Desperadoes and their young arranger Andre White who was making his debut in the large band category. A relaxed-looking Robbie Greenidge, the band's former arranger played tenor in the frontline under White. However the masses associated with Desperadoes were absent from the stage and that took away from the feel.

White's first time effort was encouraging but the current Desperadoes unit seems to be a work in progress

Defending champions Neal and Massy Trinidad All Stars drew appreciation from both stands even before they started playing Leon Smooth Edwards' arrangement of "Play Yourself". They too performed as a well rehearsed unit with their many runs.

Solo Harmonites under the baton of Seion Gomez's arrangement of Len Boogsie Sharpe's "Archbishop of Pan" proved to be interesting and will need more work for the final.

Another debutante, Shenelle Abraham was good with Junior Sammy Group of Companies Skiffle Bunch and her arrangement of "Play Yourself".

It was 12 .55 a.m. when Len "Boogsie" Sharpe and Petrotrin Phase 11 Pan Groove came on stage with Boogsie's arrangement of "Archbishop of Pan". Theirs was an extremely confident arrangement.

Though he did not "jam" the song he did enough to "blow his followers minds'" and won the hearts of the judges.

There was a second exodus of patrons after Phase 11 leaving very little for the bands that followed. The first was with Neal and Massy All Stars.

T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps gave a good showing with Clarence Morris' arrangement of "All Over". So too did NLCB Fonclaire with Ken Professor Philmore's arrangement of "Vibes".

In the wee hours of the morning, Liam Teague and Starlift tried their best to lift those present with their rendition of his arrangement of "Vibes" but it was difficult.

Results - Conventional Bands - Large

1. Neal & Massy Trinidad all Stars 268.0

1. Petrotrin Phase 2 Pan Groove 268.0

3. PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars 263.0

4. Republic Bank Exodus 262.0

5. BP Renegades 254.0

6. RBC Redemption Sound Setters 253.0

7. T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps 250.0

7. Solo Harmonites 250.0

7. NLCB Fonclaire 250.0

10. Petrotrin Siparia Deltones 246.0

10. Caribbean Airlines Invaders 246.0

12. WITCO Desperadoes 245.0

13. Starlift 243.0

14. La Brea Nightingales 238.0

15. Junior Sammy Group Skiffle 236.0

16. Birdsong 229.0

Results Conventional Bands - Medium

1. Katzenjammers 275.0

2. NLCB Buccooneers 271.0

3. Valley Harps 270.0

3. Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille 270.0

5. Power Stars 264.0

5. Pamberi 264.0

7. Curepe Scherzando 263.0

8. West Side Symphony 258.0

9. Melodians 257.0

10. Sangre Grande Cordettes 256.0

11. Carib Dixieland 255.0

12. Pan Elders 253.0

13. Petrotrin Hatters 252.0

14. Steel Xplosion 251.0

15. Belmont Fifth Dimension 248.0

Results Conventional Bands - Small

1.Tamana Pioneers 265.0

2. Codrington Pan Family 263.0

3. Nu Tones 260.0

4. Golden Hands 256.0

5. Super Novas 255.0

5. Arima Golden Symphony 255.0

7. LH Pan Groove 254.0

8. Tornadoes 252.0

9. Merrytones 250.0

10. Simple Song 249.0

11. Laventille Serenaders 245.0

12. Fascinators Pan Symphony 242.0

13. Southern Marines Steelband Foundation 241.0

13. T&TEC New East Side Dimension 241.0

15. Tobago Pan-Thers 239.0

16. Longdenville Claytones 238.0

16. Old Tech Steel Orchestra 238.0

18. St Margaret's Superstars 237.0