178 - Hello Bikini Bottom!

The episode starts with Squidward deciding to play his clarinet. SpongeBob overhears him and decides to join him by playing his guitar. They both play back and forth until Squidward blows his clarinet out of his mouth, then tells SpongeBob that he will never play with him. A stylish fish claps for them liking SpongeBob and Squidward's performance and Squidward asks who the fish is. The fish introduces himself as Colonel Carper. Colonel says that he wants to be SpongeBob and Squidward's band manager and that they will make a lot of money.

However, Mr. Krabs overhears money being involved and forcefully makes himself SpongeBob and Squidward's band manager. He even manages to steal tips from Carper on what a band needs: A tour bus, venue, sound equipment, and roadies. Mr. Krabs steals Mrs. Puff's busmobile and drives back to the Krusty Krab then he takes off his speaker, checking off both having a tour bus and sound equipment. At the moment, all he needs is a roadie, in which, he sees Patrick entering the Krusty Krab holding a boat and makes him the roadie.

Mr. Krabs, Squidward, SpongeBob, and Patrick all travel to a building that hosts the appearance of Ned and the Needlefish. Mr. Krabs meets up with Colonel Carper again and Carper explains how much better he is doing. He then blasts on Mr. Krabs for having poor sound equipment and a roadie. He also manages to even blow up Mr. Krabs' sound equipment by telling him his service will be free.

In the next scene, when Squidward is playing his clarinet on the microphone, Mr. Krabs' "sound equipment" explodes. Carper then breaks down laughing, not knowing Mr. Krabs was stealing his sound equipment from behind him. Mr. Krabs then drives the gang to their first gig: A supermarket. Squidward complains about the place they're playing at and demands Mr. Krabs to drive back to the Krusty Krab. Mr. Krabs says it's impossible because he sold the Krusty Krab to a Pawn Shop, much to SpongeBob's dismay. Even Squidward thinks that was a bad idea. Plankton is seen walking past the Pawn Shop and spots the Krusty Krab. He then runs home going to get his money.

Squidward and SpongeBob finally begin to play at the Supermarket and all of the other customers even start using food items to play along with the beat as well. Once Squidward and SpongeBob stop playing, all of the customers leave which Squidward dislikes. The Supermarket Manager then bills Mr. Krabs for playing at his supermarket. Mr. Krabs then takes the gang to a retirement home and he manages to convince Squidward to play there. However, every time that SpongeBob and Squidward play, an elderly fish keeps yelling out "Too loud!" even if SpongeBob and Squidward aren't playing.

The next gig ends up at a child's birthday party. The gig ended quickly when Squidward is stuck by a kid playing a game. As Mr. Krabs drives to the next destination, Squidward says that if the next gig is anything like the others, he will quit. When Mr. Krabs stops at the Electronics Outhouse, Squidward attempts to leave off the bus but Mr. Krabs slams the door on his face saying that it's not their next gig. Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob, and Squidward all look toward a large crowd heading toward a stadium and Mr. Krabs says that is their next gig (which says "Ned and the Needfish Today!"). Mr. Krabs drops off SpongeBob, Squidward, and Patrick and goes back to the "Next Town" sign and starts to do work on it. It turns out that he made it to redirect Ned and the Needlefish to the Electronics Outhouse, in which, the band drives to with Ned thinking that they really have gone downhill.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob and Squidward are preparing to perform for the crowd. The curtains open up and the entire crowd is cheering. However, Squidward notices they're chanting for Ned and the Needlefish but SpongeBob thinks that the crowd is cheering for them instead. As the lights turn on, the crowd notices that they're not Ned and the Needlefish. Squidward says that they know what they came for and he and SpongeBob start playing but the crowd (with Harold actually giving the signal) started to chase them off the stage. As the duo are being chased away, Ned and the Needlefish are performing at the Electronics Outhouse. A fish asks Ned about something but Ned told the fish that one of his band members could help him instead. Back at the stadium, Colonel Carper returns and he is extremely angry at Mr. Krabs for stealing his sound equipment and for driving Ned and the Needlefish off course.

Carper tells Mr. Krabs that he is suing him for everything he's got and has his roadies take back his sound equipment and even tag "Losers" on Mr. Krabs' tour bus. Mr. Krabs is highly depressed as he drives again with Squidward saying things have gotten worse. Mr. Krabs breaks down in tears and ends up driving off a cliff with the bus tumbling many times but only suffering a flat tire. Mr. Krabs asks for Patrick to put up the spare but Patrick ended up eating it (which Squidward actually guessed correctly). SpongeBob pulls out a small bag of tires telling Patrick he would've given him one. Squidward gets fed up with everything, not even caring if Mr. Krabs goes broke and decides to walk off but walks into a series of cacti along the way. SpongeBob tries to convince Squidward to stay but he wouldn't budge and walked off into the sunset.

SpongeBob then starts to sing about not giving up and eventually, Squidward turns back around and he and SpongeBob play for the final time on top of the bus. They notice a crowd cheering with Mr. Krabs in shock; however, Patrick says that they're only cheering for the meteor shower that was going on. Mr. Krabs then sets up an admission stand to have people pay to see the completely free meteor shower and makes all of his money back.

Unfortunately for Mr. Krabs, there is a long line of any people waiting to get paid back from Mr. Krabs which includes Mrs. Puff, the Supermarket Manager, and even Colonel Carper. Carper asks for the rest of Mr. Krabs' money for using his equipment, causing him to lose profits from the Needlefish show, damages to his property, and the rest just because he wants it. Mr. Krabs, of course, refuses. Carper then has his roadies dump all of Mr. Krabs' money into his pants then drops him onto the ground. Mr. Krabs, along with SpongeBob, is outside the Pawn Shop and is sad that he will never get his Krusty Krab back. Fortunately for him, SpongeBob offers Mr. Krabs a piggy bank of Gary's college fund, which he grabs without hesitation and he buys back the Krusty Krab and puts it on his boat. Mr. Krabs drives off with SpongeBob. Plankton is arriving shortly with a wagon of money, wanting to buy the Krusty Krab. However, the Pawn Shop Owner tells Plankton that he just sold it but has a taco stand instead. Plankton looks on with a shocked look on his face as the episode ends.