It’s easy to forget about comedy as an art form, or to think of it as simple “entertainment.”

But on the bad days, weeks, or months, it rises to an importance not easily quantifiable. At our worst, we can still laugh; comedy pulls us back as deftly from the edges of tragedy as it does from the drudgery of a monotonous work week. Sometimes it even does it against your will — you surrender to a laugh, and suddenly trying to be as miserable as you were before is like trying not to laugh when your mom’s stomach won’t stop growling in church: impossible.

Regardless of what kind of day, week or month you’re having, we have something to pull you in from the edge. Comedy Night returns to the Paramount at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

While Austin’s own Chris Anderson serves as emcee for the evening, headliner Mike Lester delivers on everything from the light side of working in a restaurant to the dark side of growing up in a dysfunctional family. Lester has established himself as one of the top up-and-coming young guns in the region by working every major club in the twin cities, including Acme, House of Comedy, and Joke Joint.

Jeff Pfoser, a charismatic family man whose stories take surprise twists and turns, adds to the lineup with his likeable- vs. -risque tightrope routine.

Jeff Larson, whose humor is replete with the observational realities and absurdities of growing up in a newly suburban age of so-called innocence, calls Pfoser “a star on the rise . . . after you’ve heard Jeff’s act, you’ll never look at “European” bakeries quite the same way ever again.” Larson himself delivers on Karaoke, nuclear war and the desks that saved us, and the perils of model airplane glue, and has been called “one of the most popular comedians” in southern Minnesota by entertainment columnist Marissa Block of the Rochester Post-Bulletin (2011).

Tickets for Comedy Night are available online at austinareaarts.org and at the ArtWorks Center – are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.