POP REVIEW : BEWITCHING JONATHAN RICHMAN

Try to think of anyone besides Jonathan Richman who could get down on all fours to sing “I’m a Little Dinosaur”--befitting his existence as a throwback to a more primitive age in pop--then crawl around to playfully bite his guitar player on the leg and not seem suffocatingly precious.

But Sunday at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, Richman did just that as his way of reawakening a sense of wide-eyed amazement and unadulterated joy in even the most jaded pop fans.

Like Pee-wee Herman, Richman has an idiosyncratic act that can either beguile or irritate, and occasionally his broad gestures, mock-pouting and pseudo-anger came perilously close to self-parody.

Still, with his bewitching smile and childlike (as opposed to childish) demeanor, Richman projects the image of one who has seen what the adult world has to offer and simply prefers the unsullied delights of youth.

Yet he’s hardly retreating into the comforts of a past gone by or one that may exist only in his imagination. A song like “Now Is Better Than Before” challenges the modern concept of disposable relationships and simultaneously rejects misty-eyed nostalgia.

And in “The Neighbors,” Richman sang about maintaining trust in personal relationships against the tide of outside forces that can undermine that trust. But with the line “There’s no need to let the neighbors run my life,” he could as easily have been referring to his refusal to adhere to anyone else’s idea of what a rock ‘n’ roller should be.

He frequently broke the rules, wandering away from the microphone and out of the spotlight while continuing to sing. At one point, he also lured the Modern Lovers--guitarist Brennan Totten and drummer Johnny Avila--away from their mikes and minimal stage equipment, demonstrating that the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll can exist without any of the technological trappings most rockers rely on.

In addition to such old favorites as “That Summer Feeling” and “Double Chocolate Malted,” Richman continued expounding on the World According to Jonathan in several new, characteristically quirky songs, including “When Harpo Played His Harp” and “California Desert Party,” that are on a new album scheduled for release this fall.

The fact that Richman’s stage persona is an act--however closely it may mirror his personality--was shown briefly toward the end of the show, when the near-capacity crowd thundered applause in hopes of a third encore number. Despite Richman’s good-natured admonition that he wasn’t taking requests, one fan nevertheless shouted out a song title as Richman was talking. “Don’t let one (expletive deleted) spoil it for the rest of you,” he said through an ironic smile.

Like Pee Wee and the philosophical progenitor of both, Elwood P. Dowd (from “Harvey”), Richman obviously knows how to respond to humanity’s lowest common denominator. Instead, he chooses to approach life as one of the meek--and for that Richman should be blessed.