Katy Perry Oracle Arena Oakland review: hot, cold

Frank Micelotta / EMI

Katy Perry kicked off her colorful yearlong tour in Duluth, Ga., in June and made a stop at Oakland's Oracle Arena on Monday night.

Katy Perry is a machine. Before she performed to a chorus of paint-peeling screams at a packed Oracle Arena on Monday, she spent years tirelessly building up her fan base by trudging through much more intimate venues. In the Bay Area alone, she put in an appearance at the subterranean Cafe Du Nord, fended off horny punk kids at Pier 30/32 during the Warped Tour and even attempted to squeeze a beta version of her elaborate stage show into the Fillmore.

The 27-year-old singer's Oakland appearance came near the end of a yearlong world tour in support of her second album, "Teenage Dream," and was bookended by a headline-grabbing turn at the "American Music Awards" on Sunday and this weekend's hosting duties on "Saturday Night Live."

She also has a cameo in "The Muppets" and earlier this year provided the voice of Smurfette in "The Smurfs." For late-night television viewers, Perry is the blemish-free face of the acne treatment system Proactiv.

With her star looming so large, it's easy to forget that Perry's career is built on four or five solid hits - from the casually tossed-off show opener "Teenage Dream" to the night's closing anthem, "Firework," delivered amid a full-on explosion of pyrotechnics, confetti and lasers.

The rest of the Perry's two-hour set revealed that she actually has more outfits than tunes, a problem intensified by an abysmal stretch of blustery rockers like "Hummingbird Heartbeat" and "! Circle t he Drain."

The worse the songs became (and they don't get much worse than the one-two punch of "Ur So Gay" and "Peacock"), the more acrobatic mimes, aerial gymnasts and over-caffeinated dancers in blue wigs seemed to appear on a stage inspired equally by "The Wizard of Oz" and the Candy Land board game.

Perry's shtick borrowed heavily from Gwen Stefani but with the exaggerated facial expressions she made when shocking her young fans with risque banter, and the long-winded monologues rife with mentions of Facebook and sleepovers felt more pandering.

The acoustic section of the concert, with "Thinking of You" delivered from a floating cloud high above the audience, also showed she's not opposed to borrowing from a contemporary like Taylor Swift.

But for all its faults, Perry could still relish in a couple of genuinely thrilling moments as she caterwauled her way through thunderous renditions of the singles "Hot and Cold" and "California Gurls."

Best of all was the song of the summer, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," a ludicrously over-the-top pop tune that actually matched the singer's ambition.

This article appeared on page E - 2 of the SanFranciscoChronicle