REVIEW: Katy Perry delivers sweet but satisfying treat

Katy Perry performs at the BOK Center on Saturday night. Concert-goers were treated to a Candy Land set and at least 20 of Perry’s catchy little cream puffs of songs, mostly light on substance, but oh, so easy to devour. JEFF LAUTENBERGER/Tulsa World

Katy Perry made Tulsa the last American stop of this leg of her “California Dreams Tour” on Saturday night and it was obvious she had put on this show at least 100 times before.

Concert-goers were treated to a Candy Land set and at least 20 of Perry’s catchy little cream puffs of songs, mostly light on substance, but oh, so easy to devour. She opened with “Teenage Dream,” setting the stage for a dream sequence story line that played out on big screens and helped Perry segue between songs and sparkly costumes.

"Some of my first memories are from Tulsa, so I had to come back here," Perry told the sold-out crowd, noting that her younger brother was born here and later returned to attend Rhema Bible Training Center.

Other than that bit of banter, every word uttered and move of her body seemed painstakingly scripted and choreographed.

“Waking up in Vegas” and “E.T.” were the first big crowd pleasers, but Perry’s strong vocal talents were better displayed on “Pearl,” “Not Like the Movies” and “Who Am I Living for?”

Next, she sang an acoustic-only version of “The One That Got Away.” Then she took a ride on a platform of pink cotton candy, hovering out over the furthest reaches of the arena floor while giving a beautiful performance of the bittersweet "Thinking of You." Perry’s video montage turned into the trippy boat ride scene from the original Willy Wonka movie, complete with scenes of a maniacal butcher and knives plunging into bleeding cuts of beef interspersed with cupcakes and kitty cats.

But Perry satisfied every sweet tooth with songs about cherry Chapstick kisses in front of a backdrop of candy canes, lollipops, bubbles and backup dancers that at one point included gingerbread men.

Her well-tuned pop music machine cranks out thumping dance beats. And her simple, repetitive lyrics offer just a touch of naughty here and a double entendre there, so as to give some semblance of modern “edge.”

“California girls, we’re unforgettable. Daisy dukes, bikinis on top. Sun-kissed skin so hot we’ll melt your popsicle,” she sang, with her itty-bitty, paper white costume covered in candy dots.

Super hit “Hot-n-Cold” got everyone in the arena jumping, literally, and they danced straight through "Last Friday Night," and chanted "T.G.I.F."

Perry carefully selected at least 20 audience members to join her for some dancing along to a cover of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

She closed her regular set with her anthem, "Firework," complete with pyrotechnics, and the curtain came back up for "California Gurls," which Perry finished off with a blast of white foam from a cannon onto audience members.