With the warm glow of the stage lights, in the candle lit bar, friends and couples welcomed each other with embrace and smiles at the High Noon Saloon. With a pair of tuned and readied acoustic guitars lying flat on chairs on the stage, fans waited for the band to begin. Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic took the stage as the Chicago duo was welcomed to Madison with applause.

Like longtime friends now capable of finishing each other’s sentences, each nodded his head, and began to play. With their unique style combining traditional eastern European folk music with college indie, classical and rock and an almost Spanish mariachi sound, the duo opened with a dizzying piece, Vertigo.

Synchronized with almost intrinsic timing together each played their parts with expert performance. With Ivanovic tiptoeing around Kapsalis’ rhythms, and ten-finger tapping created the illusion of three guitars instead of two. The music continued and poured out from the fingertips of the musicians as the band wowed their fans with a musical demonstration of talent and innovation as they played out their next piece Kaimara, a martial arts fight scene on guitar.

With the reverberating sound of Ivanovics’ vinyl string guitar and the blazing speed of the steel strings of Kapsalis the guitars echoed musical notes from their chambers into the hearts and minds of everyone listening. The band played several more songs, including one from the film The Professional by composer Bernard Herrmann and another from their self-titled album, Arrhythmia. A song about love lost, an emotional ride and soundtrack to heartbreak and recovery.

After a climactic ending the crowd rose to its feet, applauding in hopes of an encore. The performance of The Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo will leave you asking for more.