DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I purchased tickets and went to a concert. When we arrived at the hall, there were only three others in attendance. The performance was awful (thus why nobody was there) and we debated what to do.
I wanted to leave at intermission, whereas my husband thought that would be rude. He decided to get up and leave in the middle of a song in the second half of the concert, thinking it was more polite.
What would you advise in this situation? We didn't want to be rude to the performers, but also didn't want to waste our precious time enduring an awful concert.
GENTLE READER: Although people these days appear to think of themselves as the stars of their own shows -- and therefore usually take the side of the artist over the audience -- etiquette does not actually require a paying audience to be willingly bludgeoned until catatonic.
Miss Manners fails, however, to see your husband's alternative as more polite. A discreet dash for the door at intermission would surely be less hurtful than watching from the stage as 40% of the audience zips up their coats and marches up the aisle.