If it weren’t for the Moody Blues, some of you might not exist. Your parents were probably just about the right age to have gotten their first kiss or even conceived you to a Moody Blues song.

On Saturday night at Stephens Auditorium, a crowd of almost 2,000 gathered to forget about pension plans and mortgage payments for an evening with “the kings of classic rock.”

The audience rose to its feet with joyous cheers and applause as the lights went down and four familiar faces walked onto the stage. Everyone was clad in classic black and white except for drummer Graeme Edge, who wore a garish red Hawaiian shirt.

The spectators remained standing through the opener of “The Voice,” returning to their seats as the band kicked into “Tuesday Afternoon.” The crowd seemingly refused to stay seated for long, jumping to its feet to give a standing ovation at the end of every single song.

Each Moody Blue took a turn at the microphone during the night, including Edge, who stepped up for the spoken-word verses of “Nothing Changes,” a tune he called “a rap song, Moody Blues style.” As he walked to the front of the stage, the drummer joked, “No need to look so worried, I’m not gonna sing.”

Guitarist Justin Hayward handled the majority of the vocal duties, looking like a whiter Neil Young, if that’s at all possible. Hayward was plagued with guitar troubles for a few numbers at the beginning of the set, a situation which his guitar tech remedied by the techno-tinged fourth song, “English Sunset.”

Bass player John Lodge possessed the most stage presence of the four, oftentimes walking to the front of the stage to lead the audience in handclaps or wielding his bass in a manner deserving of the instrument’s “ax” nickname.

Flutist Ray Thomas wandered back and forth stage right until it was his turn to add his baritone vocals or flute solos to a song. Thomas definitely showed his stamina during the epic version of “Legend of a Mind,” a tribute to ’60s drug activist Timothy Leary. Thomas and the hired-gun keyboardist broke into a sort of duet before the familiar chorus of “Timothy Leary’s dead” made its return. Thomas triumphantly waved his fists in the air at the end of the song, much like a victorious prizefighter at the end of a match.

While the Moody Blues may say they’re just singers “in a rock ‘n’ roll band,” points could be argued to the contrary. Not even the Rolling Stones take a 20 minute intermission after only playing 45 minutes of music.

Not to say that certain songs didn’t have rocking elements to them. But these parts were mostly contributed by the talented backing musicians hired to help cover the Blues’ collective ass. Edge would have been nothing without his counterpart, who ended up providing the bulk of the interesting percussion. Thomas also had a few of his flute parts doubled by the previously mentioned keyboardist, presumably to fill in every five seconds when Thomas needed to catch a breath.

But tonight, the ’70s reigned supreme and classic rock was king.

The crowd rose to its feet again at the end of the encore, showing gratitude to the Blues for taking them back. In appreciation, Lodge remarked, “Thank you for keeping the faith. Until we see you next, have a wonderful life. Keep smiling.