What a privilege it was to discover that the evil cold that struck me down last week also reached the lead singer of one of my favorite geeky ’90s rock groups, Cake. And while it took plenty of decongestants to get me out of the house Thursday night, I had to stop complaining when I saw poor John McCrea up onstage, taking swigs from his Thermos in between songs, postponing the laryngitis that’s made its way through New York City.

But really, if he hadn’t accused someone in one of the four opening acts of passing the germs on to him, I doubt we’d have noticed until the very end. Maybe that meant there were more solos from trumpet virtuoso Vincent DiFiore and more rockin’ out from guitarist Xan McCurdy, which is always a good thing.

Despite below-freezing temperatures and very slushy conditions, Terminal 5 was packed for this two-night stop of the Unlimited Sunshine Tour, also featuring Agent Ribbons (missed them), Oakley Hall (quirky hippie rock with lots of harmonizing), King City (brilliant ragtime/old-timey/circus music) and Brazilian Girls.

We had a perfectly unobstructed view during the Brazilian Girls’ fun, Eurotrashy dance set, but I was pissed off when four tall beefy guys with huge heads squeezed in front of me for Cake. After I aggressively tapped one on the shoulder and made them all shuffle around a bit to give me back my view, my friend whispered in my ear, “Did you even notice who that is?” OK, I hadn’t bullied an A-lister, but Thom Filicia, the very sweet interior designer on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Weird. I probably would have been semi-star-struck if A) it were four years ago and B) he shut up for longer than 20 seconds the entire show.

But all obstacles were soon forgotten: Cake know how to please a lighthearted crowd of longtime fans. The set was mostly filled with old favorites like “Opera Singer,” “Arco Arena,” “Frank Sinatra,” “Stickshifts and Safety Belts,” “Never There” and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” I suspect that they hit the highlights earlier than usual, just in case John’s voice quit first. That still left time for some funny and political banter from the frontman. Before “Mexico,” John decried the lack of songs in 3/4 time and basically blamed that for the fall of modern civilization.

We didn’t think we’d get an encore, given his failing health, but they returned for a cover of “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town,” an audience-participation version of “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” a trivia contest for a live Christmas tree and, to everyone’s ecstatic joy, “The Distance.” A predictable list? Sure. But it was just my kind of medicine.

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