Pete wallows in his new reality, but Artie Lange snaps him out of it with an offer: In exchange for a ride to Albany, Pete can be Artie's opening act. Pete meets co-headliner T.J. Miller and attempts to save Artie from breaking his sobriety by getting between him and the temptations of an ardent fan.

In an effort to get stage time, Pete spends the night handing out fliers for a comedy club, or "barking," as he later learns it's known in the comedy world. On the streets of New York, he finds himself encountering disinterested locals, befriending up-and-coming comics, engaging in a turf war with a rival barker and getting a pep talk from a veteran comedian.