Shortly after comedian Louis C.K. sent out an email announcing a surprise show in Boston Tuesday night, fans numbering in the hundreds lined up outside the Paradise Rock Club to get tickets.

At the same time, two blocks down the street from the Paradise on Commonwealth Avenue, the phone at Allston Insurance Agency wouldn’t stop ringing.

“Allston Insurance; this is not the Paradise, they gave you the wrong phone number,” came the response when we called the phone number from C.K.’s email.

It turns out the phone number listed for the Paradise was incorrect. Instead of 617-562-8800, C.K. had listed 617-562-8200, the number for the Allston Insurance Agency.


Office manager Marie Lovetere spent the morning answering phone call after phone call.

“We have to answer because we don’t know if it’s a customer or not,” Lovetere said. “It just keeps ringing and ringing. There’s no stopping. What do I do?”

Lovetere and agent Kevin Fraser were the only ones in the office Tuesday. With Fraser busy tending to other business, Lovetere was stuck answering the many requests for information on C.K.’s tickets all by herself, a tall order for someone who has never heard of C.K. or been to the Paradise.

“I’m really worn out right now,” Lovetere said, laughing. “I’m like a broken record.”

Lovetere has worked at Allston Insurance for over 20 years according to the company website, but has never experienced a day like this one.

“What can you do?” Lovetere said. “Things happen. We just have to bear with it, that’s all.”