Link Wray Sounds a Revolution on Electric Guitar

Link Wray is an icon from another time. Like his contemporary Dick Dale, he is a survivor from that brief period in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s when a rock instrumentalist could find a mainstream pop audience without a vocalist on stage to block his view.

At the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Wednesday, Wray, 70, stomped happily onto the stage earing shades and a black motorcycle jacket, a long dark ponytail slung across his shoulder. Picking and slashing at his electric guitar, he played music that was loud and precise.

Rather than simply a flurry of notes, he offered a masterful blend of volume and drama, using both measured strokes and slash-and-burn riffing. The North Carolina native was accompanied only by a drummer, a bassist and his wife, Olive, who endlessly banged a tambourine and frequently adjusted his ponytail.

Wray did sing on several songs, and he shouted with real gusto. The set spanned rockabilly, Hank Williams-style country, his 1958 hit “Rumble” and surf music, including a supercharged “Wipe Out.”

You could hear Wray’s influence on the edgy punk-pop of the Pixies and the Ramones, and though he played to a modest crowd, there were enough modern greasers in attendance to suggest that Wray, who exited in a storm of feedback, is still a relevant force.

*

* Link Wray plays tonight at the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 8 p.m. $17.50. (310) 278-9457.