POP MUSIC REVIEW : Surf Guitar Czar Dick Dale Still Wears the Crown Around Here : He can be uneven, but his raucous performance at the Coach House Thursday proves he’s still one of Orange County’s true musical gems.

Talking to Dick Dale can sometimes leave one with the impression that, along with creating surf music on the first day, the King of the Surf Guitar was also responsible for the rest of creation. But for all his proclamations of having taught Hendrix how to play, having single-handedly made the unknown sport of surfing a national craze, ad infinitum, it’s doubtful that Dale seriously maintains any notions of deity.

Performing as tremendously as he did at the Coach House on Thursday, though, he would be entirely justified in claiming the surf-god throne in any self-respecting Valhalla. From the reverberated froth issuing from his aged Fender equipment, Dale did indeed form a crashing universe of sound.

Since Dale has been an Orange County staple for decades (he recently moved to the desert near Twentynine Palms but still performs here regularly), it’s easy to take him for granted, particularly when some of his performances are godawful. As recently as a few months ago, he turned in a Coach House show that was so offhanded and full of dead air that it recalled the Reno-revue-like Dale shows of a decade ago.

Perhaps playing surf guitar is rather like surfing: Either you’re riding atop the wave or you’re flailing around in the spume. On Thursday, Dale was in perfect form, bringing all the power and elemental fury to his guitar playing that made him a Southern California sensation 30 years ago.

Palpable might be the best word to describe his guitar work. From his machine-gun staccato picking and upside-down left-handed way of playing--making the bass strings particularly handy--to his super-heavy strings (too much for the “puny little fingers” of other players, he recently claimed), splashy reverb effects and loud, heavy-duty Fender Showman amps (essentially created for Dale’s punishing attack), everything in Dale’s arsenal aimed toward making an overwhelming sound that one could most definitely feel.

Drawing inspiration from the sensation of catching a wave, Dale was a pioneer in expanding the vocabulary of the guitar, and his mastery of the instrument showed Thursday. Along with the incredible speed and precision of his picking (which literally causes his picks to melt ), he used his amped-up Stratocaster to create amusical sounds--deep, insane rumbles and high, keening wails somewhere between a police siren and a pterodactyl shriek.

Dale performed with his “power trio” version of the Del-Tones, with longtime drummer Steve Aschoff and bassist Ron Eglit of Orange County’s Gyromatics. The pair provided a muscular backing, with the alertness necessary to work with a leader who often lurched without notice from one song to another. Dale may have performed 29 selections; it was hard to tell with all the seamless segues.

Dale had his long black hair pulled back in a ponytail, avoiding the unfortunate Morticia-meets-Uncle-Fester look he’s affected at recent performances. An audience of old fans, as well as kids who weren’t even born within 12 years of Dale’s first Balboa twangings, crowded to dance in front of the stage as he pummelled through such Del-Tone classics as “The Wedge,” “Death of a Gremmie,” “The Long Ride,” “Let’s Go Trippin’ ” and “Miserlou.”

On the rocking “Jessie Pearl,” he played with his fretting hand angled above the neck, like Jeff Healy’s difficult technique. On that and his other vocal numbers, he displayed a rough voice that sounded like Barry McGuire on the morning after the “Eve of Destruction,” but it got the job done. He also delivered some surprisingly hot tenor-sax honking on the R&B; oldie “Cherry Pie.”

Dale was born in Beirut, and there’s a good deal of Middle Eastern influence mixed in with his California beach music. His speed picking is reminiscent of oud playing, and his most melodic playing, as on “The Victor,” is based on Middle Eastern modalities.

As usual, Dale didn’t work from a set list, and he wound up playing some numbers twice. They were worth the reprise: After offering a hot double-picked version of the Chantays’ “Pipeline” early in the set, he repeated it near the end but played it with a ferocity, speed and power that even the most aggressive punk outfit couldn’t have matched.

Dale is a true phenomenon, one of the few Orange County can boast of, and he should be seen while he’s still around. Like Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, his performances can be uneven and unpredictable, but--also like them--he’s an American originator, and there’s no one else like him.