Release of Acrobatic Tenement

The album was released on February 18, 1997; the band commenced another tour of the United States, spanning 100 days (February to June 1997) and 24,000 miles. This tour included shows with hundreds of other bands such as Screw 32 , J Church , AFI , Still Life , Mustard Plug , Face to Face , and Cosmic Psychos . At the Drive-In’s fan base began to swell with every show it performed. Following this tour, the band members took a month’s vacation before rehearsing for their next record and subsequent tour. Following the recording of Acrobatic Tenement in July 1996, the final line-up of At the Drive-In fell into place with the addition of Tony Hajjar and Paul Hinojos and with Omar Rodríguez-López moving from bass to guitar. The EP El Gran Orgo , which did not feature Ward, was released on September 18, 1997, and “showed a more melodic side of the band, but the musical depth and heartfelt emotion was never more apparent.” Two days after its release, the band was in Boulder, Colorado , playing a show with Welt to kick off its next 35-day, 11,000-mile tour that also included six dates with Karp and the Young Pioneers , and one-offs with Guttermouth , the Criminals , Piss Drunks, and the Humpers .