Watch City Rain play a stripped-down version of “The Optimist” at the North Star’s Victorian Dining Room

Last night Ben Runyan and Scott Cumpstone celebrated the release of City Rain‘s new single, “The Optimist,” and the release of its music video that has racked up some 96,000 views since its release last Thursday. Set in the upstairs Victorian Dining Room at the North Star Bar, the show found the duo reinventing a short set of five songs in a hushed, contemplative and intimate mode. Candles were lit on the table up front, family photographs filled the room and Runyan played stripped-down renditions of “Watch Out,” “How Do You Like Me Now?,” “Real Good,” “Wife With A Knife” and the title track, “The Optimist,” which you can watch a video of below.

City Rain performs “The Optimist” for North Star Bar’s Victorian Dining Room series from WXPN FM on Vimeo.