How One Instagram Reel Took Us Back to the ’90s with JR Richards

October is MassKara month in Bacolod, which means music, parties, crowds, and the annual opportunity to discover that the road you intended to use is no longer available for your personal convenience.

Back when we still lived in Hinigaran, we regularly made the long trip to Bacolod for yoga. During MassKara, I dreaded it. Between the traffic and the reroutes, getting to a class required considerably more patience than I was hoping to acquire during the class itself.

And yet, when we actually came for the festivities, we committed. We would check in at Sukro or Khokoon Inn, head to the Lacson Tourism Strip, and work our way through the crowds to see what was happening. Apparently, we had energy for all that back then.

This is now my second MassKara as a Bacolod City resident, and the irony is that we seemed to participate more when we lived an hour away.

Now that the festivities are practically within reach, we have mostly been sleeping through them.

We moved closer to the action and became less involved. Very efficient.

I swiped back, confused about what had just happened. A few seconds earlier, I had been casually scrolling. Apparently, I had unknowingly dismissed a major event in my husband’s personal history.

Ralph watched the reel with the expression of someone receiving a divine announcement.

He explained that JR Richards was the voice behind Dishwalla, a band that was big in the US in the ’90s. He also insisted that we had one of their songs on our car playlist, which meant I had apparently been listening without completing the required background research.

His instructions were clear: inquire about the tickets. We MUST get them.

So I contacted Ms. Leslie, who manages The Forth.

The advance VIP tickets were ₱2,500 each, although the printed ticket showed ₱3,000. There was, however, a small detail: buying VIP tickets did not automatically mean we would have a table to ourselves. A regular VIP table seated four, which meant four tickets if we wanted the whole thing.

We felt a little awkward about sharing a table with strangers, so we asked about getting all four seats.

Apparently, our solution to potential social awkwardness was a ₱10,000 purchase.

Ms. Leslie connected me with Headrush, the event organizer, because The Forth was the venue and wasn’t handling ticket sales. They reserved four tickets for us, but we needed to pay that evening to secure them.

After Ralph’s scheduled yoga that afternoon, we headed to The Forth to pay and collect the tickets.

Yoga first. Urgent ’90s nostalgia transaction immediately after.

With four tickets secured, we figured we could invite a friend and their plus one. A lovely evening out, good music, and company we already knew. This seemed simple enough.

We contacted at least ten friends between us.

Ten.

Everyone politely declined. Some already had events scheduled. One was going to China. Another wanted a quiet Friday night to herself, which, considering our recent MassKara attendance record, I was in no position to question.

Still, finding people available for a concert turned out to require more coordination than buying the entire table.

Eventually, a ticket went to Ken. His new girlfriend couldn’t join us because she was working until 11 p.m., so our table of four became a family outing for three.

That fourth chair had excellent taste in music. Very quiet company, though.

The opening act was FXY, and we absolutely loved them.

They performed so many ’90s songs that the evening was already going well before JR Richards even came onstage. I requested Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply,” and they sang it beautifully.

I later learned from Ms. Leslie that the musicians weren’t an established band performing together as FXY. She had handpicked the guys and brought them together specifically to open for JR Richards.

Well, that was a very good decision. They fit the evening perfectly, and I was already delighted that my song request had made it into the night.

Then JR Richards came on.

And he was amazing.

There is something about hearing that voice live while people around you sing along. For Ralph, especially, this was much more than another night at The Forth. This was someone whose music belonged to his younger years, suddenly standing on a stage in Bacolod.

I had nearly scrolled past the whole experience.

There were also two guys in the crowd moving their bodies to every song he sang. They were completely into it, and it was adorable. I appreciated their dedication. Some people carry their ’90s memories in a playlist; these two had apparently stored theirs in their joints.

When the performance ended, Ms. Leslie came over to check on us. I took the opportunity to ask whether we could have a photo with JR Richards.

She spoke with the organizer, who allowed us to go over to him.

He was about to have dinner, and I was very grateful that he still took the time for us. He was so nice, and the whole encounter felt a little surreal.

Then he looked at Ken and said, “You’ve got a handsome kid here.”

Well. Ken now has a compliment from JR Richards. I imagine that outranks a few of my own assessments, despite my considerably longer experience looking at him.

For Ralph, meeting him was the highlight. Watching my husband have that moment was lovely. His teenage self had apparently been waiting all these years for a meet-and-greet, and his adult self finally had the means to purchase the table.

A huge thank-you to Ms. Leslie for helping us with the arrangements, checking on us, and making that photo possible, and to the organizer for allowing us a moment with JR Richards. Those little kindnesses made an already wonderful evening even more memorable.

It was raining when we headed home, but we were on cloud nine.

We had gone from routinely sleeping through MassKara to watching a fantastic opening act, singing along with JR Richards, and meeting him afterward. Ken came home with a celebrity endorsement of his looks. Ralph came home with a memory I know he’ll treasure.

And I came home very pleased that, for once, I hadn’t been wearing my headset.

Was it worth the ₱10,000?

Absolutely.

Although next time, I might check our friends’ availability before purchasing seats for their imaginary attendance.