FLASHBACK TO Feb. 21. It’s Monday and you’re still suffering from a scratchy throat, ringing ears and leg cramps from jumping all night long. Judging from the abundance of ecstatic tweets and happy messages on Facebook, it seems like you’re not the only one who’s still suffering from Yellowcard fever.

After two energy-building performances by local acts Hilera and Silent Sanctuary, Yellowcard wasted no time turning A-Venue in Makati into a mad jumble of jumping, screaming people last Feb. 20. Frontman Ryan Key apologized for having made fans wait for years, adding, “We’ve heard that this is one of most insane places to visit and play a show in, so you have one hour and 15 minutes to prove it.” And that they did.

The band played a total of 16 tracks, starting with the explosive “The Takedown,” followed by crowd favorites such as “Way Away,” “Rough Landing, Holly” “Lights and Sounds” and the soaring rock ballad “Only One.” The band gave a taste of their hotly anticipated album through their new single, “For You, And Your Denial,” which was remarkably well-received. Violinist Sean Mackin flaunted his mad skills in “Believe,” and kept the crowd on their toes with his infectious energy when he’s not tearing through his instrument.

Of course, there couldn’t have been a more perfect ending to an awesome night with “Light Up The Sky” and “Ocean Avenue” as the final two encore songs, putting everyone on an indescribable high that probably lasted for days.

Ever the coy ladies’ man, Key confessed his fondness for red-headed heroines before playing “Gifts and Curses” from the “Spiderman 2” soundtrack. Later on, he surprised female fans by starting off the encore with a heartrending acoustic solo of “Empty Apartment,” later joined by Mackin. By the smitten looks on the ladies’ faces (mine probably included), it seems as if Valentine’s Day had never left.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to guitarist Ryan Mendez, he might just have played Cupid to two lone concert-goers that night. “There was this loner girl who was just beside me the whole concert, and I didn’t even have the courage to ask her name,” fan Javes Consul said. “Then after Yellowcard’s set, the band members threw some of their gig items, and lucky for me, I got Ryan Mendez’s towel. I was supposed to give it to that girl to cheer her up. But when I was about to give it to her, she was nowhere to be found.” Consul posted several messages on Facebook, hoping to find the girl so he could give her the towel. Awwww.

Washboard abs

Not all fans were as generous with their hard-won goodies, though. After his jaw-dropping solo, a shirtless Longineu Parsons stood up, washboard abs and all, and threw his drumsticks into the crowd. One girl bravely wrestled with a few guys for a drumstick and triumphantly stuck it in her, um, chest, as if daring anyone to steal it from her. Meanwhile, Niki, 13, played tug-of-war with a couple of grown-up foreigners over Parson’s shirt, and got her hand bitten in the process! Talk about rabid fanaticism. (Niki got the shirt, by the way. Hope she got her shots after.)

Spotted in the crowd was Typecast’s Melvin Macatiag, Sound City Silence’s Laura Belanger and Chicosci’s Miggy Chavez, who sang nothing but praises for the band. “It was a really good gig, with the sound so loud you can barely hear yourself scream and the crowd jumping around with you,” Chavez told Super via SMS. “These guys have been around for a while and they still sound amazing. They didn’t disappoint at all!”

Super also caught up with 6cyclemind’s Ryan Sarmiento, who had the privilege of being one of the band’s road managers for this leg of the tour. “Hindi ako fan, pero nung napanood ko sila sabi ko sa sarili ko kailangan kong bumili ng album nila. The whole time na nandito sila, kasama nila ako, at nag-enjoy naman ako. Sobrang bait nila ,” he said.

As if the giveaways weren’t enough, the band even graced the audience with an autograph signing right after the show. It was a nice touch, considering not many bands do that.

Before capping off the night with “Ocean Avenue,” Key made a vow: “This is our final song for the night, but definitely not our last song here in the Philippines. We promise we will come back.” Better make good on that one, boys—your Filipino fans will definitely hold on to it until you do.