The room is dimly lit, with no windows. It’s a hot summer night, and the rumbling murmur of 600 or so separate conversations fills the air. It’s an eclectic crowd that’s gathered here in front of the downstairs stage at the Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Aging townies with bandannas, young punks with patches covering jean vests, old punks running out of places to get new tattoos, middle aged moms out for the evening. Sipping a ten-dollar rum and coke out of a plastic cup through a drink stirrer, the lights dim, and people cheer. Low, loud guitar with thick reverb pulses through the air, through your very bones. The Lebanese-American legend and surf rock pioneer Dick Dale has captivated yet another audience in the tail end of a long, successful career. You’ve definitely heard him, if from nothing else then from “Misirlou,” the iconic tune in 1994’s Pulp Fiction. After learning the trumpet and ukulele, he bought his first guitar from a friend for just $8 – spaced out over multiple payments of 25-50 cents each. Even after gaining fame and traveling the world, Dick called Quincy, MA home for decades and I’m fortunate enough to have seen him live a few times. He was one of the first to use heavy reverb that defined a genre and inspire movies like Beach Party, and Muscle Beach Party (both of which featured Dick playing himself as well as the guitar), Endless Summer, Beach Blanket Bingo, and of course Horror of Party Beach. This twangy new sound leant itself to the James Bond theme too, and both surf rock and 007 homages are slathered all over Ebirah, Horror of the Deep like a thick layer of SPF 30.

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