Grab a copy of your high school yearbook and take a few minutes to flip through the pages.

Once you’ve re-acquainted yourself with the profiles of all your former classmates, try to pick out the five biggest dorks you can find.

Got ’em? Now give these blundering idiots thick Canadian accents and a variety of interesting musical instruments.

These qualities capture the essence of the trendy modern rock group the Barenaked Ladies.

When the Ladies took the stage as the headlining act of the River of Toys, a Toys for Tots benefit concert in St. Louis Thursday, it was a curious scene.

It’s hard to believe that the crowd at St. Louis club Mississippi Nights could react so enthusiastically after a largely disinterested response to the inspired music of opener Edwin McCain.

It was also hard to believe that any member of this motley crew had ever been on a date with an actual girl.

The Barenaked Ladies kicked off its act at 10:45 p.m.

When the band left the stage after midnight, it was clear that buried under its misfit exterior, this Canadian quintet had a couple of tricks up its sleeve: a touch of musical genius and one of the best stage presences of all time.

Led by vocalists Steven Page and Ed Robertson, the Ladies combined solid musical ability, off-the-wall dialogue and slapstick comedy to put together a “show” in the truest sense.

While many modern bands put on concerts that amount to nothing more than their latest album with a poorly rehearsed dance routine, the Ladies sang, joked, danced, bantered and ad-libbed their way into the hearts of the crowd.

What made the performance all the more impressive was that it was prepared especially for a group of under 1,000 fans. Unique songs about the Show-Me State, the low ceiling beams of the venue and the River of Toys couldn’t be reused the next week or even the next day.

Lead singers Page and Robertson electrified the room with their excited lyrical talent and extreme creativity.

Page, a portly man of around 30 years of age with thick glasses and surprising flexibility, teased the crowd with a number of impressive dance moves throughout the night.

Robertson, perhaps the funniest member of the band, demonstrated genuine rapping ability and actually sounded better live than he does on most of the band’s recordings.

The set list included a generous sampling of each of the group’s first four albums as well as selections from the most recent album, “Stunt,” including the recent No. 1 hit “One Week.”

Though the group focused on current material, the Barenaked Ladies remained faithful to fan favorites “If I Had $1,000,000” and “Brian Wilson,” which the band performed as an encore.

The group also broke down into unadulterated wackiness on occasion, running about the stage, teasing fans and conversing about local customs and businesses.

At one point, the Ladies paid tribute to the River of Toys concert by offering renditions of a number of past Billy Joel songs, which they attributed with writing the song “River of Toys.”

Later, after Page snatched a visor from a member of the audience and it slipped down around his neck, the music came to a standstill as the band members quipped about cervical collars, how to properly insert them and the benefits of “cervical collar ID.”

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the band was the enthusiasm and happiness it seemed unable to quell during the show.

While many bands work to put on a good performance, it seemed to come natural for the Ladies.

Wiry, red-haired bassist Jim Creeggan’s expression seemed to say it all.

Throughout the night, as he played his vacuum-cleaner/bass guitar combination, his big, goofy grin never wavered or disappeared.

When Tyler Stewart, the band’s bulldog drummer, lashed out at the crowd, his voice (a rare combination of middle-aged woman and six-year old toddler) consistently brought Robertson to doubled-over laughter.

It was hard to tell after the final song whether the band or the crowd had more fun.

After an uplifting performance, the audience was left with one question.

How could a band as crazy and offbeat as the Barenaked Ladies be so damn cool?