OOOH! How awesome that you got to see The Specials (I loooove them; had a big Walt Jabsco decal on my guitar along with a checkered strap back in my ska band days hehe). I hope you had a fantastic time and that your tummy muscles are sore from too much skankin! I had a chance to see them many many years ago at a Warped Tour (!!), but ended up missing most of the show due to overheating and having to wait in a ridiculously long line for water -_- Good times though ^^ You are definitely right about the dressiness level of ska shows, and especially 2-tone ska, vs. other ska/punk shows; it was one of my favorite things about going to/performing ska. Love your concert outfit, you've got that ubiquitous and Definitely Necessary black and white graphic going on just right!
(You know, I was just thinking the other day that perhaps I needed to clarify that when I say "punk" for myself I really mean "Ska/Punk" because that's far more accurate; black and white, checks, houndstooth, suits, pencil skirts etc. along with plaid, spikes/metal, leather, denim, black, skinny pants etc). I just figured most people wouldn't be as familiar with ska because, well, it was a much smaller scene! Rachy, back when I was a more practicing punk I used to be really up on those subtle ska/punk differences but they are starting to moosh together in my mind heh. I think later on, in many areas it simply wasn't as defined so many of those sub-genres DID blend together. For example, where I lived and the bands we performed with, there was a strong blend of 3rd wave ska, skate punk, and a bit of thrash punk/metal; our band was the only one with strong 2-tone/swing influences, and we were certainly a minority in the circuit. Eek, sorry for the ramble!)