For the third time, musician Adam Young made a trip to St. Louis feeling under the weather.

Young, 25, of the mega-platinum electronica sensation Owl City, had a difficult weekend. After a performance on Sunday at Carroll University in Wisconsin was postponed due to the advice of Young’s doctors, St. Louisans waited anxiously for a Tweet or press release that might postpone yet another night of the “All Things Bright and Beautiful” world headlining tour.  Young, scheduled to perform on Nov. 7 at The Pageant, posted a Tweet Monday afternoon:

“Dear St. Louis, the evil sea witch/sorceress known as Ursula has stolen my melodious voice. However, the show must go on. See you tonight.”

Owl City performed with opening band Days Difference, and, for being as sick as he was, Young and his supporting band made a valiant effort to come out on a high note.

The group of six walked onto a dark stage, with the quiet hoots of a forest owl playing in the background. This launched into Owl City’s opening song “Reality” off of their latest album, “All Things Bright and Beautiful.”

“Me and the Midwest, we just have this thing,” Young said to a crowd of young fans. “The first time I came to St. Louis, I had a kidney stone. The second time, some bro threatened to kill me—we’re talking, hands wrapped around my throat tried to kill me. So, yeah.”

Clad in a green sweater-vest and a pair of ripped denim jeans, Young is easily one of the most “adorkable” faces of today’s music industry. The ultra-shy technical genius rarely agrees to media interviews, and has often mentioned that performing onstage has helped him to overcome extreme introversion. Yet, with a big smile, a lot of awkward dancing and a full tin of cough drops, Young appeared determined not to let his illness get the best of his charming personality.

“Hello Seattle,” from Owl City’s debut album “Ocean Eyes” with Universal Republic, was a crowd favorite, and audience members sang along as several bright green lights were popping in the background to the tune of the synthesizer. As the night wore on, though, the crowd started to get impatient, demanding the group’s quadruple-platinum hit “Fireflies.”

“This is a song you might know, but it’s got a new intro,” Young said, with suspense building as the audience collectively held their breath. “Here’s one that goes out to my kidney stones. It’s called ‘Fireflies.’”

What better way could there be to introduce the group’s Billboard chart-topper—the same song that is the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the United Kingdom?

The new intro to “Fireflies” began with the low chirps and hums of fluttering wings, akin to that which might be heard from an actual swarm of fireflies on a dark summer’s night in the country. This gracefully segued into beloved and familiar synths and sounds of the single that put Owl City on the global music radar.

Young, who had been popping cough drops into his mouth and drinking hot tea onstage, finally had a chance at relief when the 38-second track “January 28, 1986,” a tribute to the memory of the Challenger space shuttle disaster, began to play. The track, which features an excerpt from President Ronald Reagan’s commemorative speech with an instrumental overture, afforded just enough time for Young to walk offstage, and, just when “Galaxies” began and it seemed that he had thrown in the towel to sickness, he remerged with another huge smile on his face.

“Let me see your tentacles in the air,” Young said, yelling, encouraging the audience to dance along as he awkwardly, although adorably, swayed in a truly Adam Young fashion.

The best part of Monday night’s performance was the revelation that Young—rather than a mere techie, confined to a desk chair and a dashboard of buttons and levers and doodads—is a versatile and talented musician. Throughout the night, Young alternated between keyboards and guitars, and, in the bass pumping “Kamikaze,” he even took a turn at the drums, all while delivering true-to-the-track vocals. Still, Young said he is hesitant to consider himself a musician.

“I’m not really a musician,” Young said. “I’m a Coca-Cola employee. I’m a skinny little punk from Nowhere, Minn. And I’m here because of my fans, because of all of you. God bless you guys.”