Even an oil-soaked Metallica-loving, car-obsessed man would feel his heart strings pulled at lyrics from “Burn.”

A crowd of 20-somethings mixed with a dash of 30-year-olds and a sprinkle of elderly mill about the glamorous Pabst Theater. While waiting for Ray Lamontagne to take the stage, they bustle about getting drinks.

Diversity in ages is nothing compared to the jumble of personalities: hippies, business professionals, homo and heterosexuals, stereotypical college students, couples and friends. Regardless, they all are bound by a common thread.

Everyone seems to be gleeful that their secret — Lamontagne — is a shared one. A lone bearded man sheepishly arrives with his guitar. An orange radiance illuminates the stage as Lamontagne’s whispery voice accompanied by tranquil acoustic guitar fills the theater. His voice occasionally erupts, letting the audience know of a history of pain lying just beneath the tranquil surface.

Lamontagne’s lyrics are emotionally loaded. He has a past consisting of intense poverty — often living in cars or makeshift tents — and heartbreak.

Even an oil-soaked Metallica-loving, car-obsessed man would feel his heart strings pulled at lyrics from “Burn”: “You leave me here bereaving from the words so hard and plain / Saying the love that we had / was just selfish and sad / To see you now with him / is just making me mad / Oh so kiss him again / just to prove to me that you can / and I will stand here / and burn in my skin.”

The stage emphasizes the show’s only purpose: the music. There are no dazzling visuals for hallucinogenic fiends to prey upon. A black cloth backdrop, accompanied by simple colored lights suffices.

As the show proceeds, one by one instruments accompany Lamontagne. First is a string bass that never drowns out the wild acoustic guitar, adding just enough to be neither unnoticed nor dominating.

A unifying heartbeat is added to the crowd once the drums are combined with the other two instruments. They help emphasize each lyrical syllable uttered.

In the final songs the painting is completed when all the brush strokes have been combined on the canvas and an electric guitar is thrown into the musical whirlwind.

All instruments work together like the vital organs of a body — one supporting the other — making a whole entity.

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