I joined just to be the voice of dissent on this obviously old post.
I skip class fairly often. Sometimes the sky is just too blue to be inside. Sometimes I need a nap.
In my particular program (MS Mathematics), my professors are so terrible that I often skip class and dedicate the time to reading the books instead. My grades do not suffer. I am somewhat more independent in my thinking than others, who allow fear of a "bad reputation" or bad grades dictate their actions.
If you can handle self teaching and there is no explicit attendance policy, you can miss class. This may not be possible in all programs i.e. if your curriculum is entirely generated out of your professor's squirrelly brain with no reference to available texts.
Hope you went to the concert... 5 years ago.
